Motorists say black spot on Nyeri-Karatina road a menace

Accidents at one of central Kenya’s worst black spots along the Nyeri-Karatina road continues to haunt motorists despite the erection of speed bumps.

The spot at Mahiga-ini Springs, four kilometres from Karatina Town, has had a long history of accidents leading to death, injuries and countless cases of looting and vandalism of motor vehicles involved in accidents by residents pretending to be good Samaritans.

In many of the fatal accidents, residents have been knocked down by speeding vehicles as they cross the road to fetch water from a nearby natural spring.

Police say they have over the past several years recorded more cases of crashes involving heavy commercial trucks as compared to smaller and public service vehicles in the area which has sharp bends.

The heavy vegetation cover and cliffs along the road hinder visibility for motorists especially at night.

A 100 feet cliff on the side of the road has also claimed lives in the past, most of whom were said to have been trying to escape from looters.

The highway currently serves as part of the great north road connecting Thika to the Ethiopian boarder via Nanyuki and is used for transport of commercial goods along the corridor.

SPEED BUMPS

According to the Central Region Traffic Coordinator Jane Kuria, the high number of crashes pushed authorities to erect speed bumps and guard rails along the route with the aim of reducing fatal accidents.

“Immediate action had to be taken to save lives hence the bumps were put up along the road,” said Ms Kuria.

Early 2016, rubble strips were put up alongside the speed bumps but some motorists protested saying the strips were damaging their vehicles.

There were also complaints that the strips were slowing traffic flow and causing snarl-ups along the busy road.

Consequently the strips were converted to speed bumps but still, the police boss noted, accidents remain high.

In the last two months only, nine accidents have occurred on the spot according to police records.

“This figure is still high especially with the measures that have been put in place so far,” said the police boss in an interview with the Nation.

However, she noted that the nine accidents only resulted in slight injuries but accounted for loss of goods worth hundreds of thousands.

The most affected products are usually beer and sodas.

LOOTERS SIPHON FUEL

Other looters even drain fuel and engine oil from the vehicles involved in accidents.

“We witness youths milling around the scene to loot. The motorists have also been robbed soon after the accidents during rescue efforts.

“This is a problem that cannot be taken lightly because it poses great risks even to the looters,” added Ms Kuria.

Cases of carjacking have also emerged with criminals taking advantage of the poor lighting and slow movement of vehicles due to the speed bumps.

Recently, two gun wielding robbers were shot dead by police as they attempted to rob a motorist at the same spot.

The two criminals and a third suspect, who managed to escape, were caught red-handed by police as they robbed a motorcycle rider.

MOTORISTS LACK AWARENESS

Police have linked the numerous accidents in the area to lack of awareness among motorists of the erected bumps and poor visibility.

“Most of these accidents are self-involving because motorists are yet to adapt to the structural changes that have been put up so that is an issue that needs to be addressed,” said the traffic police boss.

She, however, maintained that the bumps would not be removed or reduced as they were put up to help regulate speed.

“They have served their purpose so far but more has to be done to tackle the other emerging issues,” said Ms Kuria.

The police boss said that bigger traffic signs would be erected to warn motorists of the bumps and said lighting would be improved especially at night.

She also noted that more patrols would be deployed to ensure that the place is well secured.

Motorists have also been urged to adhere to the changes and observe traffic signs.