Police Begin Checking If Motorists Have Worn Seatbelts

The National Police Service (NPS) had begun a nationwide crackdown on motorists after expressing concern regarding the increase in road accidents leading to fatalities.

A statement signed by Police Spokesperson Bruno Shioso on Wednesday, September 28 revealed that the countrywide operation will focus on specific areas of compliance check, including the use of seatbelts by passengers.

The crackdown will also seek to establish Road Service Licence (RSL) validity verification for all Public Service Vehicles (PSVs) as well as PSV route compliance checks to weed out illegal PSV operators.

Police spokesperson, Bruno Shioso. /FILE

The enforcement exercise will also aim to verify PSV Licence and badge validity, Motor vehicle Inspection stickers for PSVs as well as commercial vehicles, monitor Fleet Speed and enforce Lane discipline to prevent overlapping and dangerous overtaking.

Shioso noted that between January 1, 2022, and September 26, 2022, a total of 15,924 victims of road crashes across the country have been recorded with 3,541 victims fatally injured and 7,236 persons seriously injured. 5,147 victims were slightly injured.

The number of fatalities this year is compared to 3,286 who perished in the same period a year, thus representing a 7.8 per cent increase.

"We also observe a sharp increase in fatalities among passengers and in the last one week. (18th-26th September 2022) a total of 145 persons have perished.

"From our assessment, the increase was mainly attributed to preventable and predictable factors. Non-usage of seat belts by commuters, driver behaviour such as speeding leading to loss of control in high occupancy vehicles and poor mechanical condition of vehicles resulting in brake failures and tyre bursts were some of the noted causes," Shioso noted in part.

Vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, motorcyclists and pillion passengers were revealed to be the most affected in these statistics

The most affected were pedestrians where 1,269 perished in 2022 followed by motorcyclists at 941, passengers (634), drivers (324), pillion passengers (324) and pedal cyclists (49).

Shioso urged road users and stakeholders to cooperate with the enforcement officers as they conduct the exercise.

He added that the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) will continue sensitizing Public Service Vehicles (PSV), Heavy Commercial Vehicle (HCV) and boda boda operators as well as pillion passengers and pedestrians on road safety.

Scene after a matatu collided head on with a fuel trailer on September 26, 2022. /VIRALTEAKE