Details Of New Bureau Set To Investigate All Road Accidents
KTAIB is a proposed intervention which is part of the institutional and legal reforms proposed in relation to transport accident investigations.
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President William Ruto's Cabinet on Monday, October 9 approved the establishment of the Kenya Transport Accident Investigation Bureau (KTAIB) in a bid to get to the bottom of transport accidents across the country.
According to a Cabinet despatch, KTAIB is a proposed intervention which is part of the institutional and legal reforms proposed in relation to transport accident investigations.
"Once established, the Bureau will utilize international best practices and will pursue safety interventions in Road, Rail, Pipeline, and Marine Transport.
"The Bureau will be an independent agency tasked with comprehensive transport-related accident investigations and the making of safety recommendations," stated the despatch in part.
President William Ruto chairing a Cabinet meeting at State House on June 27, 2023. /PCS
The bureau will take the lead in terms of investigations from bodies such as the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) and the National Police Service, who have acted as regulators and investigators.
Cabinet further noted that the formation of KTAIB was motivated by the need to avoid cases of conflict of interest among regulators handling transport safety investigations which may interfere with independent reporting and raise questions regarding the credibility of the investigations.
To give greater impetus to a worthy and long-overdue proposal, the Cabinet directed the Ministry of Transport led by Cabinet Secretary (CS) Kipchumba Murkomen to lead in the preparation of the legal framework to actualize the policy intervention.
"In that regard, the Ministry is expected to lead all industry stakeholders in preparation of the Kenya Transport Accident Investigation Bureau Bill, 2023," added the despatch.
The bureau will immediately seek to improve the maritime sector, where most accidents involving small vessels usually go unreported.
Furthermore, the Kenya Railways Corporation, handling safety issues in rail transport, will hand over the duties to the bureau.
However, the Cabinet noted that the mandate of the Bureau would exclude aircraft-related accidents, as those are best investigated under the Civil Aviation Act, 2013, in compliance with international best practices and our international obligations.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Department is mandated with investigating air accidents.
Meanwhile, statistics at NTSA released in June 2023 revealed that 2,124 people died in road accidents from January to 25 June 2023, which is a decrease of 137 compared to last year’s record over the same period where 2,261 people were recorded to have perished in a similar period in 2022.
A breakdown of the fatalities indicated that more pedestrians were victims of road accidents with 729 recorded fatalities in 2023 followed by motor cyclists at 561.
“Motorcyclists followed with 561 deaths, 403 passengers, 196 pillion passengers, 189 drivers and 46 pedal cyclists have died since the year started,” stated NTSA's report.
The number of fatalities for pedal cyclists increased from 33 recorded in 2022 to 46 recorded within a similar period in 2023.
NTSA in June also started a re-test of all Public Service Vehicles (PSVs) and commercial vehicle drivers to curb road fatalities.
“The re-test is for commercial and public service vehicle drivers and is a pre-requisite for renewal of driving licenses with class endorsement(s); 83, D1, D2, D3, C, Cl. CE and CD. 2. The re-test shall be conducted every three years upon the expiry of driving licenses with class endorsement (s): B3, DI, D2, D3, C, Cl. CE and CD,” the statement read.
It was however suspended by Murkomen until early 2024 to allow his ministry to engage stakeholders on the way forward.
