SENATE has summoned the Prime Minister to appear before the Upper House to explain the measures in place to curb the rampant road accidents, which despite campaigns to check these fatalities, the carnage rages on. While the summons may not be tied to the current period of festive season, one cannot fail to commend the House for raising this alarm just as we head into the season that is normally occasioned with a high rate of road accidents. The decision to invite the Prime Minister follows a report by the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Security that the country registered 4,160 in 2020 which increased twofold to 8,639 in 2021, and 8,660 in 2022. According to the findings, which were furnished to the legislators by Rwanda National Police, these accidents led to hundreds of fatalities; with 629 deaths recorded in 2020, 655 in 2021, and while 687 people have so far lost their lives in 2022. The implication is that for the past two successive years, almost two fatalities are recorded every day from road accident. This by all means very alarming, and something needs to be done. Most of the accidents, according to various police reports, are to a large extent caused by irresponsible driving, mainly caused by over-speeding, driving while intoxicated, or other distractions like using mobile phones while on the steering wheel. It is possible that the Prime Minister will not be able to appear before the Upper House ahead of the festive season, however, the legislators and other opinion leaders must be engaged in sensitization efforts to discourage reckless driving as people head to the season that is normally characterized by merry making, which may lead to a spike in accidents. To their credit, Police have done a lot. They have for instance reduced the number of accidents that are caused by mechanical failures, especially since they decentralized the mechanical inspection services, commonly known as controle technique. They have also introduced periodic awareness campaigns such as Gerayo Amahoro to raise public awareness around responsible driving. It however does not mean that this has been fully covered; we still register accidents from mechanical failures which are probably attributed to a few that go through the cracks of the inspection process.
