By Lauryne Akoth
Today, the Cabinet Secretary for Roads and Transport Kipchumba Murkomen launched the National Road Safety Action Plan 2024-2028.
The launch was held in Nairobi County, KICC where several dignitaries were in attendance. Speaking at the function, Murkomen noted that the plan was a collaborative effort between various stakeholders in the transport sector.
He emphasized that this year’s road accident statistics revealed concerning trends in road behavior, with the recorded loss of life ranging between 4,000 to 4,600 individuals. Additionally, he noted that there are currently 20,000 critically injured individuals as a consequence of these accidents.
Murkomen urged Kenyans to be careful on the road, stating that the causes of accidents are highly attributed to recklessness, hence the prioritization of drivers and riders in the launched strategic plan.
He underscored the importance of partnership between the Ministry of Transport, and various county governments in reducing road carnages.
In alignment with Nairobi Governor Sakaja’s comments, he emphasized the significance of the Integrated Traffic Management System, which can promptly issue fines to individuals violating road safety regulations.
He noted that the partnership between county governments and the Ministry of Transport in implementing the system could generate revenue that can be channeled towards road safety projects as well as other county-related projects directly linked to road safety.
Murkomen also underscored the need for regulating ‘boda bodas’ noting that they are currently the leading cause of road accidents. He stressed Kenya’s need to follow Rwanda’s exemplary regulation of motorcycles by registering and assigning routes to the 2.5 million motorcycles, thus enhancing accountability.
Moreover, he indicated that the Ministry of Transport, in collaboration with the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA), will strive to guarantee that the markets inaugurated by the president include roads facilitating access for drivers.
He added that these measures, along with the construction of the markets, will contribute to reducing road accidents involving traders selling goods along roads.
The CS also revealed plans to introduce speed cameras on roads marked as black sports. ” We are in the tail end of negotiations with the private sector, by the end of this year, we should be able to put in most hotspots, which is actually the A8 road from Mombasa to Malaba, speed cameras,” stated the CS.
Furthermore, he revealed intentions of creating a task force that will be in charge of implementing the legal framework for the formation of the Integrated Traffic Management System.
“I will be gazetting in the next week or so, the task force that will work on the Integrated Traffic Management System, which will encompass the judiciary, the police, the county, and national government, and NTSA to work on the legal framework for the enforcement,” he further added.
Moreover, he mentioned his intentions to collaborate with the Ministry of Education to implement Vehicular telematics in schools countrywide. He plans to make vehicular telematics obligatory for all schools, as their buses traverse the country.
According to Murkomen, the move to improve vehicular telematics will address various road issues.