Advocate Donald Kipkorir has expressed his frustration over the growing menace of slow-moving and unroadworthy vehicles on Nairobi’s Express Way, highlighting how such negligence endangers motorists who adhere to speed limits and traffic regulations.
Speaking after a harrowing experience on the Westlands to Southern ByPass stretch, Kipkorir likened the situation to a “highway designed for speed being hijacked by crawling tortoises.”
According to Kipkorir, express roads worldwide, particularly in Europe and the United States, enforce a minimum speed of 80KPH, with slower vehicles confined to designated lanes while faster vehicles safely cruise in separate lanes.
In stark contrast, Kenyan Express Ways allow vehicles that cannot reach 60KPH to drive freely, often occupying the fast lane and causing near-collisions with vehicles traveling at speeds exceeding 100KPH.
“Today afternoon, I was driving on the Express Way when I encountered an L-vehicle moving at a mere 30KPH in the fast lane. My car’s engine nearly stalled trying to understand why I was going slower than a bicycle in motion,” Kipkorir recounted.
Donald Kipkorir stopped at the toll station near Eka Hotel to question the Express Way staff about the lax enforcement of minimum speed regulations, only to be met with shrugging indifference and no clear answers.
The lawyer criticized the authorities for allowing unroadworthy vehicles to terrorize compliant motorists, describing it as a national failure to replicate standards successfully implemented in countries like China and Europe.
Donald Kipkorir’s comments shed light on a larger issue of road safety and infrastructure management in Kenya, where investments in world-class roads are often undermined by lax enforcement, corruption, and poor public compliance.
For him, an Express Way should not just be a financial investment but a functional showcase of disciplined, modern traffic culture that respects both law and life.
If left unaddressed, the continued presence of slow-moving and unroadworthy vehicles on high-speed lanes risks turning Nairobi’s Express Ways from symbols of efficiency into perilous stretches of frustration and danger.
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