It has been revealed that the Matatu that was involved in a fatal road accident last week, killing five people, was not fitted with a speed governor.
Speaking at Nakuru police station, OMATA CEO David Kiarie said preliminary investigations confirmed that the wrecked matatu was not fitted with the speed governor despite having several OMATA stickers.
Kiarie petitioned the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) to inspect the damaged vehicle to ascertain whether it was ever fitted with a speed governor, and if not, suspend the Ngat Bridge Travelers Sacco for flouting traffic act and endangering the road users
“Matatu owners know that a speed governor is equal to an airplane black box that stores vital information useful to the police and other agencies mandated to enforce traffic laws in the country. But they disable it to avoid any liability in case of an accident,” said Kiarie.
The CEO disclosed that close to 50 per cent of Matatus operating in Nakuru had no speed governors, a situation that is detrimental to the lives of many road users.
“We have from time to time urged matatu owners to attend our free clinics on road safety and urged them to bring their vehicles to be fitted with speed governors,” he said.
Kiarie, who is also a member of the Road Safety Association of Kenya, said its an offence to hoodwink the police and members of the public that the vehicle is fitted with a speed governor, at the expense of causing death of innocent lives.
“We need to bring sanity on Kenyan roads by ensuring that traffic offenders are dealt with to improve road safety,” warned Kiarie.