I do not blame the long-distance drivers for going on strike over the issue of re-testing their competence in driving. Road crashes in Kenya are caused by all types of drivers and singling out just a small section of them is first, unfair; secondly, a knee-jerk reaction by the government; and, thirdly, a lazy way of looking at a bigger problem facing the country.
Having said that, I am fully in support of the government’s efforts to improve safety on our roads. This is important as road networks increase and more complex cars come onto the market. For instance, technology and electric vehicles will bring new challenges that the country has got to keep abreast with.
Many crashes that occur on our roads are preventable but for drivers who prefer to circumvent traffic rules and regulations. Some Kenyan drivers never bother to take theory and driving tests, which would have helped them to maintain safety on the roads, not just for themselves but for other road users too.
The issue of fake driving licences has also cropped up previously and this is one blind spot that the government has overlooked again. Any driver with a fake licence is a potential killer on the road. What’s more, drink-driving is tolerated in when, in fact, the offending drivers are the biggest cause of crashes, especially in urban areas. But the penalty is too lenient and doesn’t deter perennial offenders.
Perhaps we should not only make the punishment for such drivers harsher but also have them attend mandatory alcohol- and drug rehabilitation sessions. Let them also watch unedited videos of road crashes to witness the dangers of driving without undue care. The gory images may just sober many of them up.
Other countries with less accidents use such tactics, and it is paying off. The death toll on Kenyan roads last year was 4,690. That number was higher than the Covid-19 mortality, according to Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen. Why has there then, not been more focus before the recent Londiani disaster?
Traffic police must take the largest share of blame when it comes to the increase in the number of road crashes. This lucrative department within the National Police Service is single-handedly sending many people to an early grave with their bribery culture and lack of care for passengers and other road users. They have a legal duty to make sure that the roads are safe and no driver or vehicle that does not meet the safety standard is allowed on the road.
It is time the police were held legally and personally responsible by victims of road crashes. Kenyan lives should be worth more than the ‘mia-mia’ (Sh100 bribe) the police collect as bribes from bad drivers, who end up causing deaths and destruction on the roads. The impunity and corruption within the traffic police is, by extension, caused by the government itself for failing to improve the officers’ welfare.
As I have mentioned before in this column, police are given too much power and an enabling environment (that is, poor pay) in which to abuse that power. To end the road carnage, police officers must be well remunerated.
I have also wondered whether our roads are built with safety of drivers, passengers, pedestrians and the other road users in mind. Many of the contractors who win tenders for road construction seem to do slap-dash work that leaves some roads looking worse than the cattle tracks that where there before they were apparently upgraded.
I wonder if, indeed, some of the contractors are competent enough to build roads with safety in mind or it is just about the cheque. Some roads are not level enough to get a lorry or even car slip out easily without tilting dangerously. Potholes seem to be permanent features on most of our roads, especially the smaller ones.
Again, this is where counties need to be held accountable for accidents occurring on such roads, for failing to maintain and improve on road safety. If we put some of the blame on contractors and county governments, we may just be able to cut down the number of road crashes and the resulting death and injury.
Road signage—or lack of it—is another contributory factor. It is the government’s responsibility to ensure there are clear and visible signs on the roads to help road users stay safe and keep others safe. That goes for lighting, too. Many of our roads have no lights and it makes it difficult to drive during the night and in bad weather. The same for lack of markings on most roads. Again, the finger here points at the government.
The government, police and drivers share the blame when it comes to road crashes. If they all played their part in improving road safety, we would have less or even no deaths on Kenyan roads. I am, hence, in favour of re-testing all drivers, not just those of long-distance and passenger service vehicles.
It is, therefore, important to ensure driving licences are genuinely obtained and drivers can be re-tested periodically with a view to improving road safety and not for unduly punitive reasons.
