Mother and infant die in crash involving boda boda

Mother and infant die in crash involving boda boda

A mother and her one-week-old infant were killed in a grisly accident involving a lorry, saloon car and motorcycle on Kericho-Ikonge road on Monday.

The crash, which took place close to at Roret Trading Center, saw another woman and her child sustain serious injuries.

Bureti OCPD Ali Abdullahi confirmed the incident saying the accident happened after the lorry, which was heading towards Kericho, hit the boda boda from the rear.

Witness reports indicate that the lorry was attempting to overtake the boda boda.

Speaking to the press, Abdullahi said the motorcycle, which was ferrying the women, was also trying to avoid a head-on collision with a saloon which was en route to a nearby garage.

The OCPD revealed that the deceased sustained critical injuries on impact. When rushed to Kapkatet District Hospital, they were pronounced dead on arrival.

The bodies were taken to the hospital’s mortuary.

The second woman, her child and the boda boda rider sustained serious injuries.

Angered by the number of crashes that have occurred in the region, members of the public barricaded the road to protest the rampant loses of lives due to road carnage. They asked the government to erect road bumps to manage the driving speeds in the area.

According to the irate residents, 7 people have lost their lives in the area in the recent past.

Police officers from Roret Police Station and their administration counterparts pleaded with the residents to remove the barricade, promising that their demands will be addressed.

Two wheeled menace

Concern has been raised about the number of accidents involving boda bodas, with many taking issue with the manner in which they are driven.

In September, the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) reported that about 1,899 lives were lost through road accidents between January and August this year, with 60% of these being pedestrian and boda boda riders deaths.

Another issue of concern has been overloading. Riders have been found to ferry as many as four people during one trip.

A joint report published by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Ministry of Public Health highlighted that there has been a sharp rise in the registration of motorcycles in the country. This rise has been met by a corresponding upsurge in motorcycle related traffic incidents.

“Between 2005 and 2011, motorcycle registration increased by almost 40-fold. In 2011, motorcycles made up 70% of all newly registered vehicles. Road traffic crashes, injuries and deaths involving motorcycles has also increased noticeably and is putting a heavy burden on families, communities and the health system in general,” read the report.

In reponse to the high number of deaths and injuries involving boda bodas, NTSA introduced new regulations in September 2014.

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accident crash NTSA Boda boda

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