By Peter Ochieng
Cabinet Secretary (CS) for roads and transport Kipchumba Murkomen has announced a raft of measures aimed at curbing road accidents.
According to the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), over 500 people have lost their lives through road accidents in various parts of the country this year.
CS Murkomen in a press statement on Tuesday said NTSA will have to ensure that only medically fit drivers are licensed to drive.
“NTSA to put in place measures for the implementation of medical testing of all drivers as required by section 105 (1) and rule 30 (4) of the traffic (driving schools, driving instructors and driving licence) rules 202 before the issuance of any new driving licences and renewal thereof to ensure only drivers who are medically fit are licensed to drive,” said the CS.
Driver re-testing and crackdown on unroadworthy vehicles are some of the other measures, declared by the CS.
Furthermore, Murkomen stated that enforcement of traffic rules and regulations will be taken a notch higher, going foward.
“Having consulted with my Interior and National Coordination colleague, Prof. Kithure Kindiki, we are going to establish a mechanism of where the previous directive to remove NTSA from enforcement will be vacated and a collaborative regime between NTSA and NPS (National Police Service) will be put in place for a more efficient enforcement.”
“You will be seeing a return of the NTSA working with traffic police to enforce traffic safety on our roads as soon as possible.”
The former Elgeyo Marakwet Senator said the current spate of accidents cannot be allowed to continue, given the level of grief and suffering to victims and their families.
Murkomen issued the statement as Kenyatta University (KU) fraternity continue to mourn, following the death of 11 students on Monday evening.
The accident that claimed the 11 lives occurred after Kenyatta University bus collided with a truck in Voi, along the Nairobi-Mombasa highway. Over 20 students were seriously injured.
The bus was ferrying students to Mombasa for an academic trip.