Reducing road carnage looks even less likely now

I’m in a WhatsApp group of my schoolmates from the University of Nairobi. Last week on Monday, a member sent out a warning of an alleged scam at the Embakasi footbridge.

Police, this person said, were arresting Kenyans who were crossing without using the bridge and extorting five thousand shillings off them. Of course, the message here was how corrupt the National Police Service is.

I wanted to know why the people in question were not using the footbridge, or if they were being taken off the footbridge and defrauded of their money.

Were they scampering across the highway, endangering their lives and those of other Kenyans while trying to cross under an already-constructed bridge? My question went unanswered but another member supported my position.

According to the National Transport and Safety Authority, Kenya loses Sh45 billion as a result of accidents, excluding the actual loss of life, which is not quantifiable.

These costs are predictable in hospital treatment, insurance payments and loss of productivity, not just for the injured persons but for their families as well. Likely not included are costs of lifelong disability and the long-term effects it has on families whose breadwinners are disabled by road accidents.

NTSA also indicates that 20 percent of all deaths in Kenya happened in Nairobi, almost all of them involving pedestrians or cyclists.

It is very unfortunate that someone in the police force is aware of these statistics and uses them as the latest channel through which to harass and extort unruly Kenyans. The role the police can and should play in enforcement of traffic regulations cannot be overstated, and is quite clear.

'WALK FOR A MINUTE'

The World Health Organization has produced a fact sheet on the state of road accidents following a celebration of UN Global Road Safety Week earlier on this year that indicates the statistics from NTSA to be reliable.

Road accidents are the leading cause of death worldwide among young people between the age of 15 to 29. A drive along the Thika Superhighway appears to support this finding, given there are still Kenyans who climb over the barriers and scamper across the highway.

Most puzzling is that they are usually less than a minute's walk from the footbridge. The Muthaiga Police Station and Roysambu footbridges are favourite spots for these errant Kenyans, who are likely to end up among the about 1.25 million people who die each year from road crashes.

The excuse that matatus do not stop at the right place – which may well be true – is not enough reason for anyone, especially a young person, not to walk for a minute and make the difference between life and death.

The fact sheet also indicates 90 per cent of the world's fatalities on the roads occur in low and middle income countries, even though these countries have approximately half of the world's vehicles.

Half of those dying on the world’s roads are “vulnerable road users”; pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists. My question to Kenyans is this: if you are a pedestrian or cyclist, what would be your reason for not using designated crossings, even if it will take an additional three to five minutes of your life?

Why would you not want to ‘waste’ five minutes but actually waste a lifetime of youth and energy?

EMERGENCY RESPONSE

Road accidents are killing more people in Africa than malaria, according to some sensational reports from western media, and I would hate to imagine this being true in Kenya.

But they have also rightly pointed out that some accidents are caused by lax enforcement of traffic rules, due to both corruption and un-roadworthy vehicles. Poor road conditions and almost non-existent pedestrian infrastructure such as footpaths, pedestrian crossings and pavements are also outstanding issues.

Of course our now-infamous accident and emergency response at both private and public hospitals also matters, in public hospitals because those working there are overwhelmed and appear not to care sometimes, and in private hospitals because Kenyans involved in accidents often have neither the money nor the medical insurance to seek their services.

A good assessment of the Kenyan situation shows there is a lot both the state and individual Kenyans can do to prevent accidents.

The difference here is, if the state, for example a police officer is errant, they merely warrant being state guests.  If an individual Kenyan is errant they may render other Kenyans and themselves guests of the afterlife.

Think about it. You and I can help reduce road carnage.

Twitter: @muthonithangwa