NAIROBI: Last Sunday, the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Transport was flagged down by officials from the National Transport and Safety Authority after his driver was caught driving above the 50kph speed limit for urban areas, trading centres, municipalities, townships or cities as set out in the Traffic Act.
In August, the Parliamentary Committee on Delegated Legislation found some of the NTSA rules unworkable and unrealistic.
The 50kph limit could easily fall in this category. Part of the role of the NTSA is to facilitate the smooth flow of traffic and ensure decency and courtesy is observed on the roads. It could for example, start with the rule where slow-moving vehicles like buses and trucks keep to the left to all times. It is not hard to find two lorries lumbering up a hill with columns of traffic behind them.
Although high speed has been observed to cause deaths especially in residential areas and at busy sections of the roads, the fault does not always lie with the drivers. The role of motorised transport in our lives cannot be underestimated. From the bicycle, motorbike, to the car, the human is in constant motion at any time of the day.
So what causes the wanton slaughter on the highways and how do we stop it? The biggest cause of accidents, no doubt is human error. A second reason is that the laws are weak, outdated and therefore ineffective. And thirdly, the Traffic Police Department is complicit in most of the crimes.
There are cases where drunks and untrained cyclists cause accidents after passing a roadblock manned by a traffic police officer. Yet there is the crop of drivers who seem to have sworn to disobey every rule in the book and never get caught. The 50kph limit has been there, but has it worked?
The 50kph limit was set when most of the roads - like Mombasa Road - had two lanes and when most vehicles' speed capacity was 120kph. Mombasa Road is now a three-lane thoroughfare and most cars have top speeds of up to 180kph. Thika Highway qualifies for a free-way where traffic is unobstructed by turn-ins and overpasses. Over time, bumps have defaced it with most traffic flowing slowly at all times.
Crawling along at speeds of 50kph on busy highways in Nairobi and those towns classified as cities simply doesn't make sense. Not only will slow speed contribute to traffic snarl-ups and accidents as motorists zigzag to avoid the slow-moving lanes, there will be loss to motorists in terms of fuel and mechanical wear and tear. The hours lost on the road will no doubt take a toll on the economy as people work less hours.
