A guardrail accident. [Photo/ml-law.net]
We see them every day in our daily commutes; these metallic structures on the edges of highways.
Our perception of them is that they are there to offer us protection.
They are meant to prevent vehicles from straying into off-limit areas or getting involved in fall accidents especially when driving occurs on elevated surfaces.
The blood-curdling accident that took away the life of Nyeri governor, Dr. Wahome Gakuru, and left other occupants of his Mercedes Benz badly injured involved a guardrail.
Pictures widely shared on social media show the Mercedes Benz wreckage sliced by a guardrail like a spear; a shocking demonstration of the ability of the guardrail to kill.
The question in the minds of many is whether a possible design flaw in the guardrails could have contributed to the Governor's death.
In the United States of America, a legal suit was filed against a company that manufactures guardrails, Trinity Industries, by victims of accidents involving the highway structures, claiming that there are fatal design flaws in them.
The reason why guardrails slice through vehicles on impact is that their end caps are defective.
Should Kenya ban the guardrails to prevent deaths caused by them?
Should the government order their design to make them safer?
Will the gruesome accident that killed Gakuru trigger debate on the safety of guardrails?
Only time will tell.