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Sonko@100: Boda boda riders continue to flout traffic rules in Nairobi with impunity – VIDEO

By HILARY KIMUYU November 30th, 2017 2 min read

Nairobi residents are up in arms over the increase of boda bodas especially in the Central Business District (CBD) which has become a serious threat to safety and security.

As Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko celebrates his first 100 days in the office, majority of Nairobi residents are of the view that the riders have clogged every little space in the capital’s CBD.

Nairobi County is aware of the problem, yet boda boda riders continue to flout traffic rules in Nairobi with impunity.

More worrying is that, according to statistics from the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), a pedestrian in the county is more likely to die from a boda boda accident than any other category of road users.

Nairobi News talked to a few city residents who shared their frustrations with the county government’s failure to tame this menace.

TRAFFIC RULES

A majority agreed that boda boda riders have become a law unto themselves. They rarely obey traffic rules, with little regard to other road users’ right of way.

So why are these riders rarely arrested for such blatant disregard for traffic rules?

A traffic police officer told Nairobi News that there was nothing much they can do to bring the offenders to book.

“When we arrest them and take them to court, they simply leave their motorcycles in our custody and never show up for hearing of the cases. We only end up wasting time going to court,” the officer, who did not want to be identified, said.

FRUSTRATED MOTORISTS

A frustrated motorist, Kenneth Kilungu, lamented how boda boda rider have the habit of riding as if their safety is the responsibility of other road users.

“You will see them coming straight at you at a high speed, yet they are on the wrong lane. If you make a mistake and hit one of them they will swarm around your car like you are the offender, even if that’s not the case,” said Mr Kilungu.

Another city resident, Teresa Muigai, said that most of the time pedestrians are forced to walk on the road as boda bodas use the narrow walkways reserved for pedestrians.

“Some boad boda riders will go as far as threatening to run you over if you refuse to give way. They are very rude when you try to protest,” she said.

Although Governor Sonko didn’t directly address the boda boda issue during his campaigns, he pledged to establish traffic control command centres and also to provide additional road signage, designated bicycle lanes and to fully implement the Nairobi Metropolitan Decongestion plan.