Matatu boss calls for crash barrier at the Sachang’wan black spot

Matatu operators Saturday demanded installation of a wall barrier in the middle of the deadly Nakuru-Mau Summit road following numerous accidents at the Sachang’wan black spot.

Matatu Welfare Association chairman Dickson Mbugua said the safety barrier will reduce accidents on the road.

Mr Mbugua was speaking to Nation.co.ke a day after eight people died in a grisly road accident on the road.

The accident occurred after a bus ferrying pupils from western Kenya to Nairobi collided with a shuttle at Sachang’wan.

Mr Mbugua said that the Kenya National Highways Authority (Kenha) should not waste time and should immediately construct the barrier that he said should be from Ngata to Kibunja junction on the highway.

“Given the frequency and the gravity of the accidents on the Sachang’wan black spot, it is about time a wall barrier is put up so that vehicles are contained in their own lanes to minimize the deadly head on collisions,” said Mr Mbugua.

Mr Mbugua argued that head on collisions are deadlier than when cars are knocked from behind, and installation of the barrier would ensure vehicles stick on their lanes.

“In the meantime, Kenha should construct mild bumps on the road,” said the welfare association chair.

Official statistics in Kenya indicate that the country loses an average of 3,000 people to road accidents each year, a figure likely to go up this year if the half-year figures are anything to go by.

By June, some 1,574 people had perished on various roads, nearly 86 more people, compared to the number of deaths (1,488) in the same period last year, according to the National Transport and Safety Authority.

Mr Mbugua Saturday said the association is developing a safety campaign to be rolled out across the country.

“Vehicle owners must really sit down with their drivers and emphasise on road safety,” said Mr Mbugua.