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Association for Safe International Road Safety (ASIRT) together with Smart drivers have handed over the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030. This is to help reduce road accident deaths by 50%. They presented opportunities to lay a foundation that NTSA will leverage on.
In 2020 Kenya lost 3192 lives on our roads with several others being injured. By 9th November, 2021 the number was already higher than last year and stood at 3844.
They suggested to NTSA to:
“Implement evidence-based actions recommended in the Global Plan, tackling speed first — including 30 km/h limits where people and vehicles mix — and adopting the Safe System approach that puts people at the heart of the road system,’ stated the plan.
“Commit the resources needed to implement evidence-based action to achieve the targets. Involve the civil society and other stake holders in road safety decision making: so that peoples’ voices and their right to be safe become a central consideration in mobility policy, design, and implementation,” it continued.
Speaking during the handover, Kenya bus MD and Federation of PSV chairman Edwin’s Mukabana said road safety is an all-round responsibility. He called on the NTSA to stop the wrong implementation of speed guns and offer the digital licenses to every driver. He promised that the PSV sector will ensure road safety by ensuring they do not carry excess passengers, Regulate the working hours and get third Party insurances that will be able to compensate in case of accidents.
“I know most of the time we get third party Insurances from companies that do not last for long, going forward we are going to look into it. We also promise not to overload and also regulate the working hours of the drivers to avoid fatigue,” said Mukabana.
NTSA which was represented by Samuel Musumba who is in charge of the Safety on the roads said they will carefully look into the issues raised to fully implement the global road safety plan come 2030. He promised to ensure that all the laws are implemented to take care of the road users.