95 Percent of Boda Boda Riders Not Insured

Publication date: 07 July 2011

A majority of motorcyle operators are not licensed, the National Road Safety Council of Kenya revealed yesterday  (6 July). Speaking in Murang'a, David Njoroge a member of the Council, said more than 95 per cent of motorcycle operators in the country lack driving licenses.

He said according to a survey carried out two months ago, it emerged that 90 per cent of boda boda operators are not insured. "It is sad to note that 90 per cent of operators in the industry have never attended a driving school thus cannot be insured," he said.

Njoroge, who is also the Director General of Automobile Association of Kenya, said in the last four years the number of road accidents went up from 36 per cent to 12,360 with the number of deaths doubling to 4,072 in 2009. He added that a majority of the cases involve motorcycles.

He said the boda boda industry had grown tremendously with 4,000,000 motorbikes registered so far and that the number is expected to hit the one million mark in five years.



David Njoroge, a member of the National Road Safety Council, and Director General of AA Kenya, inspects a motorcycle.

While addressing transport stakeholders during the launch of motorcycle operators training, Njoroge said the exercise targets to train more than 400,000 riders.

He said cases of pneumonia and chest related problems are on the rise because motorcycle operators do not wear protective clothes. "The boda boda accidents have increased since the government zero rated import of motorcycles and the number of fatalities involved is raising great concern. It is now a national issue which should be addressed immediately," Njoroge said. "Many of them do not wear helmets or reflective jackets while majority of them carry more than one passenger which is against the law," he said.

Njoroge said the government should set rules to regulate the industry and recommended that alco-blow be re-introduced. The AA boss blamed motorcycle operators for flouting traffic rules and ignoring the highway code thus risking their lives and those of other motorists. Njoroge blamed the licensing registration office for delay in giving out licenses to drivers and asked the concerned authority to speed up the process.

Source: Nairobi Star