The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has intensified efforts in conducting stringent road safety compliance checks across the country.
NTSA on Saturday, April 6, 2024, teamed up with the National Police Service to erect roadblocks on major highways in a multi-agency operation aimed at enforcing compliance and also nab traffic offenders
NTSA crackdown comes amidst growing concerns over the alarming rates of road accidents in the country in the period leading up to the end of the school term.
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A grisly road accident occurred along the busy Nairobi-Nakuru highway on Saturday even as the national crackdown by NTSA continues.
The April 6, 2024, accident occurred in the Muguga area of Kikuyu, Kiambu County.
Kikuyu Police Commander Ronald Kirui confirmed the accident saying that a 62-seater bus belonging to Eldoret Express Company rammed into a fuel tanker that had stalled on the road at around 5.30 am.
Police said the ill-fated Eldoret Express bus was travelling towards Nakuru direction when it rammed into the stationary trailer.
Road carnage
The Saturday morning accident comes amid increased efforts by authorities to tame the rising cases of road carnage in Kenya.
On Monday night April 1, 2024, at least 10 people lost their lives and several others suffered injuries in multiple car crashes in the Salama area on the Nairobi-Mombasa highway.
Police said the accident happened at around 8:30 pm when a lorry heading towards the Mombasa direction collided head-on with an 18-seater matatu.
The impact of the collision triggered a new wave of accidents involving other vehicles.
The accident involved the 18-seater matatu registered to Spanish Sacco, the Isuzu lorry, a 14-seater matatu registered to Naekana Sacco, another truck and a saloon car.
The vehicles were travelling through the Mlima Kiu area, a notorious black spot along the Nairobi-Mombasa highway.
That same Monday night, one student from Chavakali Boys' High School died and several others were injured after a bus belonging to the Easy Coach company they were travelling in was involved in an accident at the Mamboleo area in Kisumu.
Statistics released by NTSA showed that the number of road accidents in the country between January 1, 2024, to April 1, 2024, had risen compared to a similar period last year.
NTSA said since the year started 7,198 Kenyans have been involved in roads accidents, marking an increase of 1,908 compared to last year.
According to NTSA data, the accidents are from January 1 to April 1.
Among the 7,198 Kenyans, NTSA reveals that 1,189 died from road accidents, 3,316 were seriously injured and 2,693 suffered from minor injuries.
This paints a grim picture compared to the same period in 2023 where deaths from crashes stood at 1,129, those who were seriously injured were 2,435, and at least 1,726 were slightly injured.
