Transport Cabinet Secretary (CS) Kipchumba Murkomen on Wednesday, April 19, issued four directives to school heads after a tragic accident killed six students along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway.
In a statement, the CS condoled with the families of the victims assuring them that once implemented, the new directives will offer a safe environment for school-goers.
"On the issue of transportation of school children, it is prudent to enhance safety especially now that the schools are closing and our children are travellng home," Murkomen stated.
One of the directives from the CS to be immediately effected was that no school means of transportation shall be allowed to operate between 10 pm and 5 am as outlined in the Traffic (Amendment) Act, 2017.
Secondly, Murkomen directed all heads to ensure that all school children are allocated seats with functional seatbelts and must be put on at all times.
The CS further directed that all school vans, buses, and matatus that are unroadworthy must be removed from the roads with immediate effect.
Murkomen disclosed that his ministry had liaised with the Ministry of Interior and National Coordination among other state agencies to ensure that all the directives are implemented and non-compliant school heads are dealt with.
Also, Murkomen directed that all infrastructure around schools should be audited and declared school zones with necessary road furniture for the safety of the schools within six months.
Additional measures to be implemented to curb road accidents include ensuring cameras are installed at all blackspots and ensuring all public service vehicles operate with functional speed limiters among others.
The CS urged members of the public to be vigilant on the road as well as take personal responsibility by putting on seatbelts when in cars, wearing helmets when riding motorcycles, and crossing at designated points.
"Help us restore safety on our roads by reporting incidences of traffic violations through the National Police Service hotline 911," Murkomen appealed.
In the past few weeks, several tragic accidents were reported including one involving the Pwani Unversity bus that killed at least 18 students and several injured.
The recent accident near Delamare farm left at least six students from Mbihi Friends High School dead. The vehicle from SWAT Sacco was ferrying 12 passengers inclusive of the driver.
