The Motorists Association of Kenya wants the Nairobi-Nakuru highway dualled to reduce road accidents.

Association national team leader Peter Murima said there is an increase in the number of accidents along the highway and a dual carriageway will ease the flow of traffic.

In January, Transport CS Kipchumba Murkomen said the government intends to upgrade black spots on the Nairobi- Nakuru-Eldoret stretch by marking and installing cat-eye reflectors to enhance visibility.

The CS said accidents on the road mainly involved lorries and PSVs.

Stakeholders have welcomed the move, saying the highway between Naivasha and Nakuru is prone to serious traffic jams, especially during major holidays when many Kenyans are travelling.

They said the gridlock is usually bad at Gilgil toll station, where motorists have on several occasions spent nights or long hours.

The process of making the Nairobi-Nakuru highway a dual carriageway all the way to Mau Summit was started during the Uhuru Kenyatta administration in 2019.

In July 2022, the African Development Bank committed to injecting Sh18 billion into the project, whose total cost was estimated at Sh160 billion.

It was to be done under a public-private partnership arrangement with a consortium of contractors undertaking it to recover the costs over 30 years from users who were to pay toll fees.

But the government decided it would source funds for the project to eliminate the toll fee.

Murima on Wednesday also pointed out the design of the road and careless driving as some of the causes of accidents along the Nakuru-Nairobi highway.

He singled out boda boda operators as the most notorious in disregarding traffic rules, followed by matatus.

Murima said warning signs, guard rails, standard speed bumps and rubble strips should be installed on the highway as a matter of urgency to cut the road crashes.

He said unplanned speed bumps along the highway are not clearly marked and have also contributed to fatal accidents.

Murima said from next week the association, together with other stakeholders, will start a major road safety campaign along the highway targeting learning institutions and motorists.

“Our association is going to teach drivers safe driving skills because we realise motorists are not taught or sensitised about this in the driving school,” Murima said.

Murima said under this programme, they shall provide the students with reflective jackets and bangles which will come in handy while walking to school early in the morning.

Nakuru region MAK coordinator Stella Nduta Ng’ang’a said they had visited several churches and schools in Naivasha to sensitise the community on road safety.

“We shall be working closely with traffic police, learning institutions and motorists in making sure that our roads are safe,” she said.

On Thursday last week, 18 people, including students and staff from Pwani University, died in an accident involving their bus and a matatu in Naivasha.

The accident came two weeks after four people died and 15 others were seriously injured in a multiple accident involving five vehicles in Kekopey on the Gilgil-Nakuru highway.

Statistics from the National Transport and Safety Authority released on March 23 this year show 974 deaths have been reported on Kenyan roads since the year started.