Sugarcane trucks barred from Kitale-Webuye road at night
Tractors have been banned from transporting sugarcane on the Kitale-Webuye highway at night. PHOTO | BENSON MOMANYI | NATION MEDIA GROUP
Bungoma County government has banned tractors from transporting sugarcane on the Kitale-Webuye highway at night in a bid to avert road accidents.
The road was expanded recently to accommodate high traffic but instead, according to the locals, it has turned into a killer highway.
The county is sponsoring the Transport Bill which will see all cane carriers banned from the road from dusk to dawn.
VALID PAPERS
The proposed county law also stipulates that all tractors should have proper lighting and reflectors. All tractor drivers will also be compelled to have valid documentation.
Crashes reported recently have been between 14-seater matatus and tractors.
The most tragic was in December last year when 19 people, including nine family members, perished at the Kamukuywa bridge, now a black spot.
They were in a matatu that collided with a tractor ferrying sugarcane to West Kenya Sugar Factory.
The accident claimed 14 lives on the spot while five other people died while receiving treatment at a local hospital.
Deadly accidents
Last Friday, seven people died at Matili market, near the Kamukuywa bridge, when a tractor collided with another tractor ferrying sugarcane to West Kenya Sugar Factory.
The week before, six people died near Kamukuywa bridge in yet another accident involving a tractor and a public service vehicle. Both tractors were set ablaze by angry residents.
A fortnight ago, a driver died on the spot when his car plunged into a ditch at Satellite on the highway.
Last week, Bungoma Governor Wycliffe Wangamati met with the management of the sugar company following the deadly accidents.
