We are constantly told Kenya is on its way to becoming a first-world country, so naturally we should borrow first-world ideas. I want us to take the United Kingdom as an example ,the UK’s MOT inspection system works because it is part of a complete road safety ecosystem, well-maintained roads, proper road signs and markings, disciplined drivers, credible driver training and licensing, strict enforcement, independent inspection centres, highly trained inspectors and modern equipment.
Here, we still have roads that destroy suspensions, missing road signs, chaos all over, poor road designs, no street lighting or even cat eyes present, to add to our problems we have unroadworthy PSVs, lawless boda bodas, questionable driver training and licensing and traffic laws that are selectively enforced.
If we genuinely want to copy first-world systems, then let’s copy the entire system, not just the part that asks motorists to pay for inspections.
Road safety is about saving lives, not ticking boxes. The day we start treating it as a complete system rather than isolated policies is the day we will begin making real progress.
I don’t even want to get started with the incompetence and corruption at NTSA.
It is what it is.