4,000 charged with drunk driving in road safety crackdown

More than 4,000 people have been prosecuted for drunk driving on Kenyan roads in the past year.

The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) director-general Francis Meja said that the arrests have been the result of the nationwide campaign against drunk driving.

“We have been able to sustain this campaign for the last year because we want to see Kenyans healthy and participating in national development by saving lives,” Mr Meja said during the launch of a partnership between Kenya Breweries Limited and chauffer services firm Smart Fellas,
NTSA chairman Lee Kinyanjui noted that the number of road accidents had also dropped by 11 per cent in the past year despite their initial target of a 30 per cent reduction.

“The serious injuries sustained in accidents within the same period have also reduced by 20 per cent which we acknowledge is great improvement considering behaviour change cannot happen overnight,” Mr Kinyanjui said.

The authority, he said, would through the newly established transport and safety committees established in the counties run an aggressive campaign against drunk driving throughout the festive season.

“We are happy that Kenya Breweries has come out today to say that even with the implementation of the campaign they have not seen a reduction in sales but rather a change in drinking patterns with more people opting for entertainment spots closer home,” Mr Kinyanjui said.

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KBL’s corporate relations director Eric Kiniti said that half of the 3000 people who died from road accidents last year could have been saved if the drivers were not drunk.