The Road Safety Association of Kenya has blamed the rising road carnage on the lack of inspection of public service vehicles (PSVs) and trucks.
Officials of the lobby led by Chairman David Kiarie said most PSVs on the road do not have inspection stickers, making it hard for police to enforce traffic rules.
The chairman maintained that out of 1.5 million vehicles that were eligible for inspection in the last year, only 300,000 were inspected, claiming that some corrupt government officials were benefitting from bribes
Kiarie was addressing journalists after chairing a meeting of members of the Association in Ruiru, Kiambu County to address the recent spate of road accidents which he said have claimed over 200 lives between December last year and January this year.
Last week, 11 people perished when a bus collided with a lorry transporting paddy rice in Kisumu County and left over 50 others critically injured.
The official said buses and trucks are the biggest culprits contributing to the road deaths as they do not undergo inspection, many of them having faulty brakes and other mechanical failures.
At the same time, Kiarie opposed a proposal to have PSVs fitted their vehicles with speed cameras, saying this should be the government’s responsibility and not the operators’ as they are already overburdened with various levies.
He said efforts to reach Road and Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen to raise their concerns were fruitless.