Time to Brake

The state of our roads has seen a major deterioration over the last 9 months due to the dont care attitude and over speeding witnessed on our roads. During the period when Hon. John Michuki was at the helm in the ministry of Transport, accidents were at an all time low and this was credited to a series of factors top of which was adherence to policy or imposition of stiff penalties. Other factors that played a crucial role during this time were things to do with awareness campaigns both from the public and private sector and generally good social behaviour prevailed as a result. Things have taken a turn for the worse in fact Kenyan road users seem to have been embroiled in the confusion that has spawned out of this and the resultant carnage has had a punitive effect on the insurance industry causing insurance premiums to rise. It is estimated that the carnage on our roads has cost the exchequer in the region of 5 % of the GDP. Statistics released by the various stakeholders make for grim reading with on average 3,000 people dying annually on our roads and children accounting for 30% of this total. It is estimated that road fatalities have up-surged fourfold over the last 30 years. This state of affairs is worrisome indeed and mitigation is called for in order to stem the bleeding and check the number of fatalities. The impact on the family unit cannot be gainsaid and so are the social and economic costs. Women and the youth especially seem to be the major culprits and this is denying the country productive resources vital to the economic growth and unless something is done to redress the situation we are going to end up with a redundant population. Time To Brake! hopes to provide a platform for raising awareness as to the horrors of the carnage that is road accidents in the hope of reaching a critical mass that would be stirred enough to cause a mind shift towards embracing all that is right and proper in terms of motoring policy and road safety. It serves as a forum for ideas exchange, as well as exchange of road traffic accidents information, pointing out black spots, highlighting run down road infrastructure likely to cause traffic accidents,spotlighting errant motorists violating traffic rules including public transport vehicle operators, and rogue traffic officers. This is hoped, will effect the change we deserve and bring back sanity on our roads. It is both a moral campaign as it is a social one! Its Time To Brake!