Kenyan roads face their annual trial by fire this December, with transport authorities warned on Monday, pledging round-the-clock patrols, mobile courts and free speed-governor checks in a desperate bid to avert the usual carnage.
The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) and police say reckless driving, fatigue and unroadworthy vehicles turn the festive exodus into a slaughter.
Last December alone, more than 400 people died in crashes, many on the Nairobi-Mombasa, Nairobi-Kisumu and Nairobi-Eldoret highways now filling with packed buses and matatus.
“We are deploying officers 24 hours a day, especially at night when most fatal accidents happen,” said traffic commandant Fredrick Ochieng. Speed guns, breathalysers and instant mobile courts will operate at black spots, ending the culture of roadside bribes by delivering fines on the spot.
NTSA road safety director Andrew Kiplagat called the campaign a shared duty. “Vehicle owners must present roadworthy buses, drivers must be rested and sober, and passengers must speak up when they see danger,” he told stakeholders in Nairobi.
In a rare concession, speed-limiter suppliers will retest and repair devices on public service vehicles free of charge throughout December. Federation of Public Transport chief executive Kushian Muchiri announced a new digital platform to track repeat offenders across different employers, promising harsher penalties for serial speeders and drunk drivers.
Matatu Owners Association deputy president Salim Mbarak urged operators to resist the temptation to press town-service minibuses into long-distance runs or skip servicing for profit. “Worn brakes, bald tyres and exhausted drivers kill,” he said bluntly.
As families prepare to travel home for Christmas, the message from police and regulators is stark: the roads will be watched as never before, but survival still depends on every driver choosing caution over haste.
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