The use of substandard retro-reflective materials has been blamed for the rising cases of road accidents in East Africa.
Some of the retro-reflective materials include chaperone, reflectors and road signage that are used to enhance visibility on the roads and curb accidents.
The use of substandard retro-reflective materials has been blamed for the rising cases of road accidents in East Africa.
The National Transport Safety Authority (NTSA) said motor vehicle dealers and manufacturers must use proper and quality materials to minimise accidents associated with long-distance trucks and heavy commercial vehicles.
“We have those very dangerous rear-end accidents due to vehicles stalling on the road. Other road users are unable to detect a stalled vehicle promptly because there is nothing to warn them,” said Joel Opere, the deputy director Motor Vehicle Inspection at NTSA.
“Some of these materials are faded and cannot be visible to other roads.”
He said quality and proper materials must be used to enhance visibility on the roads.
Mr Opere, who is also the chairman of the technical committee on the transportation of dangerous goods and hazardous components in Kenya and the East Africa Community, warned motorists against using low-cost reflective materials.
Some of the retro-reflective materials include chaperone, reflectors and road signage that are used to enhance visibility on the roads and curb accidents.
“Those transporting LPGs should have these retro-reflective materials to enable other road users know the size of the vehicle or the kind of dangerous goods they carrying, whether inflammable solids or liquids or explosive material used in mining or radio-active materials,” he said during the road safety workshop that brought together officials from the traffic department, Kenya National Highways Authority (Kenha), Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) and other transport stakeholders in Eldoret town.
“We have had accidents due to trucks stalled on the roads and because of poor visibility other users ram on these vehicles due to lack of retro-reflective materials.
“We have had accidents in the past, for instance in the sugar belt region, tractors transporting sugar cane, get stalled, there is no any retro-material material on the tractor hence we have had an accident,” he said.
The official noted that last year Kenya adopted the East African standards to guide on classification, packaging and transportation of hazardous goods across the borders.
Mr Opere revealed that Kenya has adopted standards such as KS EAS 949, KS EAS 950, KS EAS 951 and KS EAS 952 that stipulate on the proper usage of the retro-reflective materials.
“This used to be a gap but right now we have standards in place. However, what remains is the implementation and enforcement of these standards,” explained the official.
Kenya Bureau of Standards (KeBs) North regional manager Vincent Cheruiyot said that the lack of use of protective and reflective gear was blamed for high deaths due to accidents in the country compared to other countries in the region.
“From data across from Africa, whenever there is high usage of these PPEs, the road accidents are low. It is important for them to use them because they will save lives,” added Mr Cheruyoit.
