Road accidents a burden to healthcare, Ida

Ida Odinga has decried the rising number of road accidents in the country saying they are becoming a burden to the health sector.

Speaking at symposium organised by the Kenya Medical Women Association in Nairobi, Ms Odinga called for collective responsibility by all road users to help reduce the carnage.

“We need not lose lives at the rate at which we are losing today. A lot of it is as a result of carelessness and we must combine all our efforts as drivers, pedestrians and all road users to ensure this stops,” she said.

Ms Odinga argued that the continual accidents on our roads are becoming an unnecessary expenditure for poor families, money which would be put on other use.

Traffic Police figures indicate that about 3,000 people die annually from road accidents while 8 meet their end on a daily basis. 6,000 more people get injured every year, leaving them unproductive most of the time they nurse the injuries.

She spoke just days after new road safety campaign aimed at reducing carnage was launched on Wednesday

The programme called the Kenya National Road Safety Campaign whose motto is “Toa Sauti” (Speak Out) will encourage road users to take personal responsibility for their actions as drivers, passengers and pedestrians.

It has been spearheaded by a Trust with members from Safaricom, the Media Owners Association, Traffic Police, the government, Matatu Owners Association, Kenyatta National Hospital, East African Breweries Ltd, Total Kenya, General Motors, Magnate Ventures and Direct Line Assurance.

The campaign came to the fore, early this month when Traffic Department announced that 2,525 people have lost their lives in accidents so far this year.

Of this figure, 1,236 were pedestrians, 241 were drivers, passengers (607), boda boda operators and their passengers (440).

The new Thika superhighway alone has seen 111 people die.