The Sunday evening bus crash in which more than 30 people perished is by far the worst this year in the continuing road carnage. By yesterday, 34 people had been confirmed dead. The toll could rise, as a number of passengers sustained serious injuries at the River Nithi Bridge on the Meru-Nairobi highway that has been a notorious blackspot over the years.
Preliminary reports have blamed human error as the cause of this accident. The driver reportedly lost control of the bus that went on to plunge into the river. Last Wednesday evening, three people died in a crash involving a matatu and a lorry in Narok County.
In yet another accident involving a truck and a matatu on July 8, 18 people perished on the Mombasa-Nairobi highway. Two days earlier, another four people had also been killed on the road in Machakos County.
Since the beginning of the year, 2,200 people have died in road accidents across the country. This is just short of the 3,000 annual average deaths in road accidents. This is a worrying trend that could exceed last year’s toll of 4,000 deaths unless stringent measures are taken to enforce traffic rules and regulations and enhance road safety.
As often happens after such horrible road accidents, the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has suspended the operations of the Nithi River accident bus company. It’s a procedural measure as investigations continue. However, this is a knee-jerk reaction that will not go far enough to make the roads safer.
The NTSA and traffic police must do better to help curb accidents, whose causes are well known. One is human error, especially reckless driving. Others are speeding, the blatant flouting of traffic rules and regulations, the use of unroadworthy vehicles, and bad roads. Sadly, though, the police roadblocks often mounted on the highways are used as extortion and bribery points.
As the Tharaka Nithi accident is investigated, this is also an opportunity to revisit the proposal to redesign the bridge that continues to claim lives. The inspection of public service vehicles should be enhanced, as many of them are said not to have the mandatory speed governors, and speed limits must be enforced.
