The authority Director General Francis Meja has also warned that pedestrians crossing roads at non-designated places will be arrested and charged in the court of law/file
NAIROBI Kenya, Aug 1- The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has stepped up measures meant to reduce road carnage during the busy holiday month of August when many road accidents occur in the country.
Among the measures put in place will be ensuring foot bridges that are in deplorable conditions are cleaned and made user friendly.
The authority Director General Francis Meja has also warned that pedestrians crossing roads at non-designated places will be arrested and charged in the court of law.
“Statistics of the people killed in road crashes indicate that 46 percent of victims are pedestrians. In Nairobi alone pedestrians have been killed in the six months of this year,” he pointed out.
“In order to reverse this trend, NTSA has in past few weeks been engaged in rehabilitation of all footbridges and enforcement of their use. A total of 15 foot bridges that were in deplorable condition have been cleaned and made user friendly.”
Meja said a total of 479 pedestrians have been arrested and prosecuted in the last months.
“The month of August has traditionally been a month in which we experience the highest number of fatalities on our roads. Indeed in the year 2013, during the month of August alone, we lost a total of 302 people,” he lamented.
“This needless loss of lives on our roads is unacceptable.”
He also says the authority will dispatch speed cameras and traffic officers to all major highways to monitor the speed of vehicles.
“Anyone caught driving over the prescribed limit will be dealt with firmly. Motorist are also reminded that the speed limit within urban areas is 50kph,” he affirmed.
302 people were killed last year in the month of August alone through road accidents.
For the Boda bodas operators, Meja said, “NTSA is currently in the process of drafting motorcycle regulations to regulate the activities of motorcycles and in particular boda bodas.”
He said in conjunction with the police, NTSA will ensure that they comply with existing traffic laws especially the requirement for the driver and passenger to, “wear helmets and reflective jackets and the requirement that only one passenger may be carried at a go.”
“The boda boda operators are also reminded that they are not exempted from traffic rules and any operator caught flouting them will be firmly dealt with.”
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