THE REAL COURSE OF THE ROAD CARNAGE IN KENYA

Joseph Mwai, a returned Diaspora 

By Joseph Mwai

THE REAL COURSE OF ROAD CARNAGE IN KENYA

I have repeatedly submitted this vital document to the only channel I believe would generate results. Unfortunately, the editor of the daily nation newspaper has consistently failed to publish it or even respond to my emails on any reasons why it is not published. What appalls me is the shear ignorance on the contents herewith which I believe would bring to light the fact that something deeper is wrong with our standards in the assembling of the vehicle bodies locally in spite of the only blame on drivers over speeding of their vehicles.

As I seat and watch the destruction of innocent lives due to the poor industry standards in the manufacturing of vehicle bodies that are the buses and matatus entrusted to transport thousands of people from one destination to another on a daily basis, I’m gripped by a pain that intensifies with each accident that is captured by the media. Just Have a look at the image of the vehicle below and read on.

As we focus on the extent of the damage in the mangled bodies of these buses, verses the estimated speeds it could have been travelling, let us look at images of two high speed trains in China that were involved in a head on collusion about two years ago. The trains are otherwise known as ‘Bullet’ due to their speed. This image below is of such high speed trains that colluded and then fell from a bridge. Just look at its body after the accident.

 Amazingly, only 33 people lost their lives while a staggering 199 sustained injuries in this horrible accident, although the deaths of the passengers caused an outcry and concern over the high speed trains. But most Kenyans would be amazed by the fact that at such high speeds and the fall from the bridge of the same trains, there were survivors at all based on what we are constantly witnessing on our roads with our locally assembled vehicles today.

I have held discussions with numerous numbers of Kenyans on the real causes of the high rate of deaths that we witness every time an accident occurs.

Well, let’s first understand this word that is so ruthless and leaves a trail of sadness and misery every time it rears its ugly self on our roads.  An accident is generally defined as “an unfortunate incident that happens unexpectedly and unintentionally, typically resulting in damage or injury,” or a “crash involving road or other vehicles, typically one that causes serious damage or injury.”

This then is the true definition of this ugly word that every Kenya is wroth to see manifest on our Kenyan roads.

Without seeming to justify reckless drivers, we all know that accidents do happen- sometimes even to the most careful drivers on our roads and there is almost a saying that says, ‘accidents just happen.’

The UK is one of the countries in the world with the most stringent traffic rules as well as the highest number of speed cameras. It is also known to be the country with the most cautious drivers. Ironically, with all these ‘goodies’ accredited to the low rates of accidents or incidents in Britain, you still hear of isolated instances of road accidents in almost all roads in the country with a few fatalities here and there. This is not withstanding autobahns in Germany where vehicles are allowed to drive at astronomical speeds whilst in the first lanes.

This tells us something- that no country in the world can attain a hundred percent accident free rates on the roads.

Whereas the UK government and indeed many western countries have set up measures that ensure that vehicles driving on the roads meet certain standards of motor vehicle roadworthiness, the speed limits in some of these motorways would see any accidents especially with PSVs and particularly buses annihilate all passengers. Yet this is not usually the case.

The above image is of a bus that crushed through guard rails in Belgium and toppled under a bridge. Although unfortunately five children were killed and a further two were in critical condition while three more were in serious condition after the accident, but let us observe the damage on the body of the bus as opposed to the damages we witness on buses after an accident here in Kenya. Observing the height from the bridge to the ground below and the metal rail guards, one can only imagine what the bus would look like if it was a Kenyan assembled one.

A photo taken from a highway overpass shows the scene

We must therefore go deeper in our thinking as well as observation here in Kenya and try to understand why it is that almost all accidents in Kenya and particularly those involving buses and matatus must claim a life if not several every time they tip over.  Here we must view these causes analytically rather than holistically.

A comparison of Kenya’s situation with a country like Britain where we have borrowed most of our laws from will show that the speed limits in a motorway which is similar to the Thika super highway, is 75 miles per hour with an allowance of at least 10 percent. This translated in kilometers is equal to about 120.7 km per hour! Yet even those real accidents that have occurred involving buses travelling at such high speeds have never claimed the number of lives that we see with buses and matatus in Kenya. More amazing is the fact that most of the buses and matatus in Kenya that have claimed the lives of almost all the passengers whilst maiming others for life would be hardly driving at 75km per hour which is merely 46.6 miles per hour!

This may imply that there is more than meet the eye regarding either the roads or these vehicles here in our country. During the Moi era, when most of the roads were in deplorable conditions, we used to hear and reason out that it was due to the states of these roads and the tear and wear caused by the same roads on these vehicles that was a major cause of accidents.

If this was truly the case, then we should have rid ourselves of this menace with the good work that has been done by the Kibaki administration, with the upgrading and investing in modern road infrastructures. So where should we actually direct our blame for these atrocious mishaps, as the bucks must stop somewhere?

I developed an interest a while ago, of trying to pin- in on the real causes of these terrible calamities that seems to claim the lives of our people at will, with such glaring impunity as can never be witnessed even with our notorious politicians.

When the breakthrough came, it came more as a shock and shame than the joy that would usually accompany such a discovery of finding the cause that offer a solution that would most certainly save countless number of lives if heeded by the relevant authorities.

One thing that always strike me whenever a bus or matatu is involved in an accident where they especially role over or overturn is the fact that in most cases than not, the upper part of the vehicle’s body, from the bottom of the window up is usually ripped apart or mangled beyond recognition! A trait that is associated with over- speeding, but which would be proved wrong by a simple thought experiment. The experiment would involve lifting any of our locally assembled buses and slowly putting it to the ground with the upside down, then pushing the vehicle at a speed of about 10km per hour over a certain distance.

Although this is currently just a thought experiment, it may be found to be close to the truth that such an experiment would see the upper part of the body of the bus from the bottom of the windows up, ripping apart. This will be found to be caused by the weight of the lower part of the bus including the chassis and the engine, verses the weak superstructure of the bus that forms the cover of the passengers seated in it.

This in turn in real accident turns the bus into a guillotine that mauls the passengers mercilessly causing the large number of fatalities usually witnessed. It does not matter whether the passengers wear safety belts or not. It does not really matter if the bus is travelling at high speeds or not. It may not even matter much whether the bus is overloaded or not- one thing will always stand out- lives will always be lost!

The amazing truth that will shock many on the real causes of these endemic road carnages is hidden in the standards of the bodies of these buses by the body builders!

If you look closely into these bodies, you will note that the only metal holding or joining the lower part of the body from the upper part of the windows is just the angle- lines separating the windows! What I mean is that there is no reinforcement whatsoever to protect the passengers from this sleeping guillotine which is readily awakened by the slightest accident only to claim a soul in the most grisly manner!

A further investigation will show that the welding at the joints of these angle- lines is usually of a very poor quality, not withstanding that the quality of the metal- bar itself is very low.

A lot of blame has been heaped on the drivers of these buses some of whom are usually almost innocent. With due respect I point out to the hefty fines imposed on drivers which appear to be of little or no consequence as most of the drivers involved in the accidents usually perish alongside other passengers with a few exceptions here and there.

In the light of these revelations, we must aim our focus from the police force that usually bears the blunt of the blame for not doing much to curb these accidents. We must instead set our focus on the reflection of the role of the two institutions that are mandated with the responsibility to ensure that we have a set of standards that safeguard the welfare or wellbeing of the entire Kenyan populace. These institutions constitute the ministry of Industrialization which should have in place a set of guiding principles on the standards that these body builders must adhere to, as well as the notorious Kenya Bureau of Standards- the same institution that is responsible for all the fake and substandard equipments flooding the country today!

It is an interesting reflection on the general climate of thought that none of these institutions has ever  come to a conclusion that their failure to set safeguards on these industry is the major causes of the number of deaths that we witness almost on a daily basis in Kenya today.

It is however clear that whereas we may not expect those mandated with the noble task of ensuring that we travel safely to physically prevents accidents; they must know that we have a fundamental right to safety as we travel in public transport without fear of death at the slightest tip- over of these vehicles! They must therefore look into these shortcomings and ensure that buses are reinforced with tubular u- tube metal bars connected from the superstructure to the chassis as standard. This reinforcement is similar to what we see in rally cars and they may not carry much extra weight but may save lives of countless number of Kenyans who rely solely on this mode of transport. If anything, the amount of fillar (sic) evidently used to paste the buses underneath the paint would instead compensate for these tubular bars.

A further challenge is to the insurance companies that have to insure and compensate for the lives of those insured by the bus owners. It beats logic that these insurance companies that are usually so slow in compensating and usually look for the least excuse not to pay out have never thought of investigating the building standards of these vehicles.

A keen observation will reveal that insurance companies have a duty to also set standards which ensure that they are not losing money due to faults that could have been avoided.

It is therefore apparent that, whereas accidents may not entirely be eliminated, or avoided, but the grisly deaths that cost our country dearly whilst leaving countless number of people traumatized for life, may be avoided, if only those responsible may stop sleeping on their jobs.

Joseph Mwai, a returned Diaspora is a self educating student in several disciplines and is currently engaged in the science of thought. Email address: basewood1@gmail.com