There is hope that runaway killer accidents could be tamed after road safety players launched a new system that enhances speed checks.
This comes with the introduction of one digital sticker for vehicles fitted with speed limiters which enables law enforcement officers to easily detect defaulters.
Speaking during the launch at Kamakis area along the Eastern Bypass in Kiambu County, officials of Speed Governors and Road Safety Association asked the government and particularly the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) to embrace the new technology.
The Association Chairman Edward Gitonga said the new system will help weed out the issuance of fake speed check stickers as it is connected to a server that transmits information to all the relevant authorities.
"We believe this system is the cure to the killer monster that our roads have become lately. It will also eliminate fake compliance certificates printed in Nairobi's Kirinyaga Road," he said.
The official added that the road safety lobby groups are reaching out to NTSA and the traffic police department to have unity of purpose in minimizing road accidents.
"We are saying that NTSA must work with the safety groups if we have to reduce the death toll on the roads," Gitonga, who was accompanied by his Secretary General John Mutisya, said.
Mutisya on his part said if the issue of speed is adequately addressed, particularly for public service vehicles and trucks, the road carnage will be drastically reduced.
David Kiarie, the Chairman Road Safety Association of Kenya said the new device can be linked to the NTSA server and will make it easier for the Authority's officers and traffic police to implement the law.
"The digital system will not only make it easier for policemen to detect vehicles that violate traffic laws with regard to speed but also make it hard for violators to get away undetected. We are also asking the regulator to ensure all PSVs and trucks are fitted with inspection stickers," Kiarie stated.
The official also took issue with Roads and Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen's recent remarks that earth roads have never caused major or fatal accidents in the country's history, terming this as retrogressive thinking.
"We cannot go back to the pre-colonial days when there were no tarmac roads as the CS implied. We must continue to build good highways but ensure measures are taken to check speed," he added.
Kiarie also maintained that trucks which have accounted for most of the fatal accidents must undergo inspection and be issued with digital stickers.
In the recent past, the country has witnessed an increase in fatal road accidents mostly attributed to speeding, recklessness or trucks with faulty brakes which safety officials blamed on lack of inspection.
