Accidents witnessed at the Nairobi express way are not attributed to design flaw.
This is according to Director Highway Planning and Design at the Kenya National Highways Authority, Samuel Omer.
Omer who spoke during a transport and infrastructure conference at the Kenya International Conference Center (KICC), said human behavior is to blame.
“When you enter the toll gates of the Nairobi express way, you are advised that the speed limit is 80 Kph, he said.
He added: “If you do 80 Kph from James Gichuru to Mlolongo you could take 20 minutes as opposed to the 3 hours people used to take.”
“What we see with these accidents is that vehicles are doing more than 120 kph yet they know they are approaching the terminal end of the express way,” said the engineer.
This, he says, makes it difficult to stop within a safe distance.
Public education
Omer who also expressed his sympathy to the victims of the accidents, said better education to the express way users needs to be offered.
He also said that ongoing investigations show that some motorists were also either driving under the influence of alcohol or hurrying to reach the toll gate ahead of other motorists.
He added that other than the Entebbe express way in Uganda, the Nairobi express way is the first toll road in sub-Saharan Africa.
