Meru county assembly majority leader Victor Karithi has expressed concern over failure by traffic department to control speeding by vehicles that transport miraa.
The majority leader noted that vehicles transporting miraa flout traffic rules and they neither slow down nor stop whenever signaled by police manning the roads.
Kariithi pointed out that the speeding miraa vehicles are to blame for increase in accidents along Meru Nairobi highway.
Karithi called on relevant authorities to ensure enforcement of traffic laws to curb the rise especially during this festive season.
He said careless driving and speeding by vehicles were the leading cause of accidents in the county.
“Speeding has caused loss of lives to many residents in the county and this habit has to be curtailed,” he said adding, two persons are nursing injuries at Meru Level Five Hospital after being hit by miraa vehicles and several others have lost their lives through hit and run vehicles.
He noted that despite several warnings issued against the vehicles transporting miraa, no legal action has been taken against them.
“Families have lost their relatives, children have been orphaned as a result of careless driving and this cannot continue under our watch,” he said adding traffic rules should apply to all.
Kariithi pointed out that people operating along Meru Nairobi highway now fear for their lives because despite several police checks being mounted on the roads the miraa vehicles do not stop or slow down.
“The journey from Meru to Nairobi usually takes an average of four hours but miraa vehicles barely take two hours due to speeding,” he noted.
In February this year, 17 persons were seriously injured and one died along Nairobi Meru Highway after a public service vehicle collided with a pickup ferrying miraa.
Later, in May, a miraa driver died on the spot along the Nyeri-Nanyuki highway while transporting miraa to Nairobi after his vehicle was involved in an accident.
By Muguongo Judy
