Pedestrians too need to obey traffic rules

More Kenyans have so far died in road accidents this year than the whole of last year, according to statistics from the National Transport and Safety Authority.

From January to the beginning of this month, Kenya had lost 2,294 on the roads, compared to 2,084 people who died last year. Worse, most of the dead were pedestrians, especially in major cities and towns, with Nairobi claiming what one could argue is the lion’s share.

By the end of the year, the numbers could be higher if the festive month of December, when the country records a spike in road accidents, is factored in.

What do the latest statistics tell us? Instead of employing sneaky methods to arrest speeding or drunk drivers, NTSA should refocus their efforts towards reduction of pedestrian deaths. They should re-orient their aerials so that they can come up with executable programmes that can help reduce deaths of pedestrians.

Even as I do not advocate for drunk-driving, NTSA’s most sensational programme of nabbing tipsy motorists is not working. Yes, Kenyans must cease to drink and drive if we have to keep our roads safe, but, spending scarce resources and valuable man hours to catch someone who has barely had two glasses of wine is silly and counterproductive to say the least.

These pedestrian deaths are high because, this target group is obviously not keeping to its lane. Take for instance, Mombasa Road, Eastern bypass and Mbagathi Way in Nairobi. Despite the national government spending an arm and a leg on footbridges, pedestrians still disregard them, and prefer to dash across the highway without caring about oncoming traffic.

The authority needs to work with county government to ensure that pedestrians are sensitised on the dangers of crossing the road at undesignated crossings. Secondly, pedestrians too have to change their attitudes, and respect other road users too. Motorists also have a right of way, and their right needs to be respected, thus, pedestrians should not ignore zebra crossings or traffic lights and then expect the driver to take the blame.

Motorists do stop at traffic lights to let a pedestrians cross, and it is only fair that pedestrians also have the patience, to wait for their turn instead of running across the road, or strolling, while hurling invectives at motorists who have the right of way.

The authority should also work with schools so that we can have road safety matters inculcated into the young ones long before they venture on their own on the roads or before they find themselves behind a steering wheel.

By working with schools, many Kenyans can be adequately sensitised on road safety and the number of accidents can reduce.