Kenyan roads are forwarding hundreds of bodaboda riders to their graves and in the process breeding an army of widows and orphans.
The National Transport and Safety Authority has put in regulations that motorbike riders should have two helmets and two reflective jackets-one for themselves and the other for the passengers.
However, most of these riders and more so those untrained seem to be clueless about this regulations anyway and only carry one helmet and one reflector, for passengers, which according to them, takes care of them both.
However, the majority believe that ‘God is for us all, and protects’
Statistics on road fatalities by the NTSA reveals that deaths resulting from motorcycle crashes have increased tremendously.
According to the latest statistics survey by the Authority, 2, 585 people had been killed by November 2018 in motorcycle-related accidents.
Nakuru Provincial General Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Joseph Mburu said cases of traffic have been on the increase with the rise of permanent disabilities as a result.
The hospital recorded 259 cases in the last ten months with majority of the cases linked to motorbikes.
Of the 259 cases recorded, some succumbed to injuries, others left with permanent disabilities while others recovered.
“The cases have been constantly increasing but have been spiralling since June. Unfortunately, victims from crashes stay for longer in hospitals. This also has an impact on the resources in hospital as well as financial implications on families,” Dr Mburu said.
He said most of those involved in the crashes are motorists and those left with critical injuries are the passengers who did not have protective gears on during the time of accidents.
Most of those admitted in hospital as a result of crashes are the motorbike riders while those often nursing serious injuries remain those who did not have protective gears on when the crash occurred.
“Some crashes result in permanent disabilities and the patient spends a long time in hospital undergoing treatment, which also strains resources while families are drained financially,” he added.
“Since 2013, we have lost 4,000 riders on the major highways. The number from smaller roads is also significant. The numbers are rising every year and we are also losing very many passengers and pedestrians. It is time to stop the carnage,”Boda Boda Association of Kenya Secretary General Ken Onyango explains.
Majority of the riders breach NTSA regulations, which stipulate that loads should not exceed 15 centimetres width beyond the handlebars.
The regulations further stipulate that a load’s height must not exceed two metres from the ground and that its rear-projection should not exceed 60 centimetres the length of motorcycle. It should also not be dragged on the road.
Guyatu also attributed lack of training and unlicensed and uninsured riders as well as an increased number of underage riders.
There are an estimated 700,000 riders in the country. Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) data shows that between January and July 2018 alone, some 105,323 new motorcycle units were registered.
What is even more worrying is that 70 per cent of the estimated 1.3 million riders do not have insurance covers going by the Boda Boda Association of Kenya Association. “We have 1.3 million operators who were doing business according to last year’s statistics.
Our records show 70 per cent of them do not have any form of insurance because the relevant authorities do not sensitise them,” Onyango added.