Critical lessons on road safety from governor’s death in crash

As Kenyans bid farewell to former Nyeri Governor Wahome Gakuru, who died in a road accident on Tuesday last week, the world will solemnly be remembering the millions of people killed or injured in road traffic accidents every year.

Sadly, Dr Gakuru, a brilliant leader who had a vision for transforming Nyeri County, becomes one of the latest counts in the more than 1.2 million people who die worldwide every year from road accidents.

ACCIDENTS

The World Day for Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, which will be observed with over 1,000 events in 100 countries on Sunday, is to raise awareness about the cause, scale and impact of accidents.

It is observed as a part of the United Nations Decade (2011-2020) for action on road safety, which calls on governments to scale up road safety interventions to reduce by 50 per cent deaths and serious injuries by 2020.

The thrust of campaign is that most accidents are preventable, reducing the burden and trauma on bereaved families and the economy.

The World Health Organisation describes road accidents as the leading cause of “preventable” death. In its 2015 Global Status Report on Road Safety, the WHO reported that the cost of accidents was equivalent to three per cent of global output, and much higher in low to middle income countries.

The highest risk of death is in Africa due to poor roads and lax enforcement of safety regulations.

NTSA

In Kenya, which has one of the highest death rates, reports by the National Transport and Safety Authority indicate that road safety programmes have reduced needless loss of lives and injuries.

The NTSA reported in September that its programmes, which include collaboration with stakeholders, had reduced deaths by 10 per cent, from 3,150 to 2,834 during the year ending June 30.

This is an encouraging trend, which underlines commitment to making road travel safer. But, every accident raises questions about the underlying causes and what could have been done to prevent it.

The axis of evil rotates around three key factors — the state of the vehicle, the state of the road and human factors, such as the state of the driver, pedestrians, riders and other people, who might have contributed to the accident.

Following Dr Gakuru’s death, the government ordered investigations into all these factors.

BLACK SPOT

While waiting for investigators to shed more light on why and how the accident happened, the more fundamental lesson is what needs to be done to prevent such crashes.

Urgent and critical actions are needed to prevent loss of lives and injuries. One of them is finding solutions to the problem of the “black spots” identified on all major roads.

The spot where Dr Gakuru died is classified as a black spot, another one is Salgaa near Nakuru town, and many others, including crossings where pedestrians are killed or injured frequently.

Providing a conducive environment for road users is critical to reducing accidents. Lack of action to turn the spots into “yellow”, “blue” or “green” is shocking and negligent.

Essentially, there’s no evidence that the NTSA and the roads authorities have acted to improve the condition of the roads at such spots.

Engaging road users, particularly pedestrians and cyclists is also a critical step in increasing awareness and helping them make informed decisions when crossing roads.

PEDESTRIANS

The authorities must also find a solution to the problem of pedestrians crossing at any point, which mostly happens where there are no designated, safe and convenient crossing points on the highways.

Motor vehicle dealers also need to be involved in road safety campaigns.

They need to encourage motorists to learn the basics of each car model. It is dangerous to assume that any driver is competent to drive any vehicle.

For sure, a truck driver shouldn’t get behind the wheel of a Maybach without some basic tutorial.

Mr Warutere is a director of Mashariki Communications Ltd, [email protected]