Nairobians heading upcountry stuck for hours in highway traffic – PHOTOS
Motorists headed upcountry for the Christmas festivities had to endure long hours on the Nairobi-Nakuru highway due to unusually heavy traffic.
Those who spoke to the Nation said they spent several hours on the road.
THREE-HOUR TRAFFIC JAM
A woman, who identified herself as Cate, said she left Nairobi early morning but was still held up in traffic more than three hours later.
“The journey to Nakuru takes me less than two and half hours, but I’m yet to reach Naivasha more than three hours after I left Nairobi,” she complained.
The snarl-up started on Saturday, with a motorist, John Kariuki, taking more than four hours on the road from Naivasha to Nairobi.
“The journey takes me less than one and half hours but I had to withstand more than three hours on the road,” he said.
Naivasha head of the police Titus Mathuku attributed the jam to unusual heavy traffic with commuters headed for Christmas celebrations.
ACCIDENT
Meanwhile, six people were seriously injured after two lorries collided along the Naivasha-Maai Mahiu road on Saturday evening.
The six were rushed to the Naivasha Sub-County Hospital where they were admitted, three of them in critical condition.
According to Mr Mathuku, the driver of the lorry headed to Maai Mahiu attempted to overtake a fleet of vehicles but collided head on with the oncoming vehicle.
“Initial investigations indicate the driver of the canter lorry headed to Maai Mahiu failed to observe basic traffic rules, leading to the collision,” added the police boss.
The accident caused a major traffic jam along the road used by heavy commercial vehicles ferrying goods across the East African region.
The vehicles were later towed to the Naivasha Police Station.