LETTERS: Traffic rules should be applied uniformly

I commend Interior secretary Fred Matiangi for being firm in re-enforcing the Michuki traffic rules. However, it seems discriminatory to enforce road traffic and safety measures partiality.

The ongoing crackdown on public service vehicles is fair but discriminatory. Empirical evidence proves this. Taking the report on fatal road accidents published by the National Transport and Safety Authority(NTSA) as at November 1, 2018 as a sample reference point, only four of the 14 accidents were caused by matatu drivers with five fatalities.

Six out of the 14 fatalities involved motorcycle riders and the rest involved private vehicles.

I would like to draw attention to the number of accidents caused by motorcyclists in the country.

From the November statistics we can see that close to 50 percent of the fatalities reported are from the notorious motorcyclists. We have seen several campaigns countrywide sensitising on their safety but a certain culture has built up over time that allows bodaboda riders to flout all rules and regulations on the road.

How many times have you seen a bodaboda cross a red light? Compare that to the number of matatus and motorcars that have done the same.

We may not have statistical evidence but we can make an educated guess that motorcyclists are notorious for this vice and Pedestrians too. To make the matter worse, motor cyclists are also the highest victims of these accidents. We are looking at a population that clearly sees that it is dying but doesn’t care. Someone must stop them from dying!! A twist of tales, of the Matatus, none of the accidents reported can be attributed to lights or graffiti or loud music. According to a 2016 Kenya youth survey report by the Aga Khan University, Kenya is a youthful country with a median age estimated at 19 years and about 80 per cent being below 35 years.

One need not have attended a sociology class to clearly tell that art and music is appealing to people at a youthful age.

It goes without saying that vehicles with this artistic features are favoured by the majority of the population. Sorry old folks but the young guys will still age.

This is it, we have a young population which may tend to be quite resistant to change, however, let the love for art and graffiti blind the fact that the cultural issue that we face as a country is that we all don’t obey basic traffic rules.

As firm action is taken, Kindly ensure that the basic traffic rules are followed by all. There is need for some sanity in our roads but let us not condemn our fun loving youthful population.

Let the sword cut across. Let the matatu driver stop at the red light together with the politician who is ever in a hurry to run errands but slow to deliver to Kenyans, the boda boda rider and the pedestrian.

Dr Matiang’i, your officers should not enforce the law partiality because this will not end the fatalities also caused by careless motorcyclists and pedestrians.

Don’t get distracted and condemn an artistic culture just for the sake of a few car owners who have complained about matatus. Let this cut across the entire population who are subject to the very basic traffic rules.

Joe M. Karanja business analyst.