The number of people killed and injured in road accidents in Kenya has gone up 17.5 percent in the last nine months compared to a similar period last year.
National Transport and Safety Authority's (NTSA) latest report revealed that 2,591 people died on Kenyan roads by end of September this year compared to 2,219 killed in a similar period last year, representing a spike of 16.8 per cent.
The number of those injured shot up from 9,510 by September 5 2018, to the current 11,187.
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NTSA revealed that pedestrians accounted for the highest number of those killed, with 1,005 deaths, followed by passengers at 524 while motorcyclists were third, with drivers coming fourth at 245.
The road safety status report stated that 4,825 people were seriously injured in road crashes compared with 3,309 recorded last year.
And 4,618 others have so far sustained slight injuries in road accidents this year compared to 3,771 by September 25 last year.
NTSA attributed most road crashes to bad road user behavior such as drink-driving, speeding and low levels of road safety awareness among road users.
Nakuru black spots increase
In Nakuru County Traffic Police Boss Rashid Ali, indicated that seven black spots have been identified along the Nairobi-Kisumu-Eldoret Highway. The black spots increased from four to seven in 2018.
He listed them as Kinungi, Kikopey, St. Mary’s, Free Area, Ngata, State House and Salgaa. Ali however indicated that accident cases recorded at the notorious Salgaa stretch have reduced drastically in the past year due to road improvements.
The traffic police boss said by the end of September a total of 569 people in Nakuru lost their lives in road carnage compared to 466 who died last year
In September, 23 people had been killed in accidents within the devolved unit, 32 had sustained serious injuries while 33 others had sustained minor injuries.
He attributed the increased road carnage to inadequate footbridges and crossing points and failure to observe traffic rules. Boda boda riders have also been put on the spot.
They have been faulted for causing crashes, ignoring traffic rules and involvement in crime-related activities.
“Speeding, drunk driving, poor road conditions and lack of proper road signs have aggravated the situation. Following the ban on road barriers and enforcement most road users have thrown caution to the wind. Some accidents were caused by fatigued drivers, inexperienced motorists, and poor visibility especially at night and bad road conditions.
The highest number of accidents involved private cars followed by commercial vehicles. It is encouraging that the lowest incidences of accidents were recorded in public service vehicles” said Ali.
Boda boda accidents
The number of motorcycle boda boda passengers killed on road crashes has sustained an upward trend with an increase of 34.8 percent as compared to 2018.
By September 25, 2019, 248 boda boda passengers had died compared to 184 who lost their lives by the same time last year.
Similarly, fatalities of motorcycle riders have increased by 25.8 percent from 411 cases last year to the current 517
The report also showed that Nairobi County contributed over 20 per cent of all the national fatalities recorded by last month.
