Too many lives lost, enforce road safety habits ruthlessly

On Saturday, March 28, an accident on the Nyeri-Nyahururu highway killed 16 passengers on the spot.

This was yet another chilling reminder that the recklessness of our drivers and their incompetence must make policymakers wake up and act. Road crashes are virtually out of control.

Last year alone, a staggering 5,000 people died not because they were sick, but because the daredevil driving culture has not been pushed back with serious and painful punishment.

The weekend once more underscores the need for urgent need to enforce road safety habits ruthlessly.

A large number of matatus plying urban and rural roads are unroadworthy because instead of paying inspection money to the National Transport and Safety Authority, they bribe the police and remain on the roads.

Like in every accident and death, many families have lost their breadwinners and the financial toll it will have on the affected will take generations to overcome.

The NTSA has a new boss and for him to make an impact, he must take the bull by the horns and crack down on driver indiscipline and vehicle inspections.

Anything short of a serious, resolute action will only exacerbate the already desperate situation.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "With bad laws and good civil servants it's still possible to govern. But with bad civil servants even the best laws can't help." —German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, who helped unify Germany, was born on April 1, 1815