Concern as number of people killed, injured in crashes on Kenyan roads on the rise

Police officers inspect the wreckage of a truck that overturned at Jolly Farm, near the Sachangwan black spot on Nakuru-Eldoret Highway on March 27, 2016 killing a nine-year-old child and injuring two people. NTSA says the number of people killed or injured in road accidents in the first three months of 2016 rose by 45 per cent compared with the same period in 2015. PHOTO | SULEIMAN MBATIAH | NATION MEDIA GROUP

By  BEATRICE OBWOCHA

What you need to know:

  • The total number of the victims in the first three months of 2016 increased by 1,233 – from 2,699 in 2015 to 3,932 in 2016.
  • The report also stated that Nairobi County contributed 22 per cent of all the national fatalities in 2015.
  • The NTSA says it has inadequate enforcement powers as it relies on other agencies such as the police when conducting road safety operations.
  • The NTSA's 2015 road safety status report released in January 2016 said 3,057 people were killed in road crashes.

The number of people killed and injured in road crashes in Kenya shot up by 45 per cent between January and March 2016 compared with the same period in 2015.

In statistics posted on the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) website, the total number of victims in the first three months of 2016 increased by 1,233 – from 2,699 in 2015 to 3,932 in 2016.

The number of those killed across the country over that period was 827 in 2016 compared with 725 in 2015, representing a 14 per cent increase.

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The total number of crash victims who sustained serious and slight injuries in 2016 was 2,105 compared with 1,974 in 2015.

PEDESTRIANS

The data by the road safety authority revealed that pedestrians accounted for the highest number of those killed, with 326 deaths, followed by passengers at 176 while motorcyclists were third at 139.

The NTSA's 2015 road safety status report released in January 2016 stated that 3,057 people were killed in road crashes in 2015, compared with 2,907 in 2014.

The report also stated that Nairobi County contributed 22 per cent of all the national fatalities in 2015.

The county recorded a total of 668 deaths, a majority being pedestrians, with 497 killed on the roads.

The NTSA attributed the rise in road crashes to bad road user behaviour such as drink-driving, speeding and low levels of road safety awareness among road users.

The agency says it has inadequate enforcement powers as it relies on other agencies such as the police when conducting road safety operations.

IMPROVED DATA COLLECTION

NTSA Director-General Francis Meja said there was a high number of road crashes in March 2016.

“We also have improved data collection and we are recording accidents that were not being recorded before [and] hence the rise,” he said.

He said the authority expects the number of crashes to decline “in the coming days” as enforcement of road safety laws is increased.

He said 45 vehicles recently acquired by the authority will be deployed countrywide, with Nairobi getting the highest number.

Mr Meja also said the NTSA, together with the Interior and Transport ministries, would this year hold a national boba boda conference.

He said the conference would address the emerging issue of the high number of boda boda road crashes.

“We want this issue addressed to the grassroots level, where even chiefs will be involved in enforcing laws targeting motorcyclists such as helmet wearing,” he said.

According to the NTSA data, 637 motorcyclists were killed in road crashes in 2015.

In the first three months of 2016, 139 motorcyclists and 66 pillion passengers died in crashes on Kenyan roads.

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