Safari Njema Sept 2017 Safari_Njema_Sept | Page 3

Editorial EDITORIAL AND PROJECT MANAGER Stephen Macharia [email protected] SUB-EDITOR David Kipkorir STAFF WRITERS Joseph Maina Lynet Ndichu Samwel Doe Felix Achanda Lilian Okwini Samson Ateka Glenah Nyamwaya Mwaura Njoroge PHOTOGRAPHY George Tubei Daniel Sibollah DESIGN & LAYOUT Felix Desouza [email protected] CIRCULATION AND DISTRIBUTION Medical Media Services MARKETING AND ADVERTISING Janet Sigey Mobile No: [phone] www.medicalmediaservices.co.ke PUBLISHER & DISTRIBUTOR Medical Media Services Seasons Centre Suite No22, Block 1 P. O. Box 698 - 00521, Nairobi, Kenya. Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone] PRINTER English Press © Health Business 2016 www.healthbusiness.co.ke FOLLOW US: Facebook: SafariNjemaKE Twitter/Instagram: @SafariNjemaKE DISCLAIMER Safari Njema Magazine is owned and published by Medical Media Services Ltd. No part of this magazine or its related sites may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form without prior written permission of the publisher. Unsolicited manuscripts are submitted at the sender’s own risk. The publisher is not liable and accepts no responsibility for the consequences and outcomes arising from reliance whether partly or solely on the contents of this publication and related website and products. All health information is meant to serve as advice only and is not meant to replace the services of a healthcare professional. New curriculum for training drivers and instructors welcome T he National Transport and safety Authority has developed a curriculum to be used to train drivers in Kenya. This is a welcome move in light of a largely deregulated environment of training drivers. The new curriculums, according to NTSA, seeks to, among other things, “improve the competence and discipline of drivers” and address the “knowledge, skills and attitude gap” that currently exists. Training will now be modular according to NTSA. The curriculum spits training into modules that include training for motorcycle riders, light vehicles, public service vehicles and commercial vehicles drivers. Statistics show that the average of age of accident victims in the country is 35 with over 80 per cent of accidents resulting from human error. Over 3,000 people die on Kenyan roads yearly with nearly thrice the number having to live with injuries and lifelong disabilities. That road accidents negatively affect our economy is not negotiable. And even with this new drivers training curriculum, a commendable effort by government to make roads safer, Kenya still needs to eliminate corruption that exists in the driving schools. The schools, hugely commercialised, are important in shaping the behaviour and skills that drivers acquire before licensed to drive. Some driving schools admit more students that the school capacity in a bid to maximise on profits. Other schools, especially in the rural areas, train students with seemingly unsafe vehicles. It is for this reason that we call for more regulation in the drivers’ training system. For this reason, attention must now shift to the schools situated outside ma jor towns. The government must ensure that trainees use roadworthy vehicles and at the same time ensure only licensed instructors conduct the trainings.