NTSA records decrease in road fatalities

The number of road fatalities has gone down in the past five months, according to the transport agency.

National Transport and Safety Authority's deputy director in charge of safety Duncan Kibogong on Wednesday said that the decrease was recorded between January 1 and May 14.

There were 1,095 incidents compared to 1,139 in the same study period last year.

"Road accidents have gone down by 3.9 per cent. But still no person should die; the death of one is too many," Dr Kibogong said during the road safety workshop at Strathmore Business School in Nairobi.

PEDESTRIANS

Dr Kibogong added that the number of people injured or killed in road crashes is 4,193, down from 4,676 recorded in 2017.

Also, the number of road crashes too reduced during the study period.

The statistics also showed that the number of people, mostly pedestrians, dying daily in road crashes is eight to 10.

In the study period, the number of passengers who died in road crashes stood at 224 followed by pillion passengers at 213; pedestrians were 427.

He said such incidents dent the economy because they affect the productivity of the workforce.

"The most affected are young people between the ages of 24 and 34, who are the most productive to the economy," he said.

CAUSES

The major causes are reckless human behaviour such as drink-driving, speeding and driving while talking on the phone.

Most incidents, 400, occurred in Nairobi.

Head of Transport Services at the Transport Ministry, Mr Martin Eshiwani, said road safety is a development challenge that should be addressed through partnerships and collaborations.

"As a country we have not done enough to reduce accidents significantly in the past 10 years," he said.

As such, Strathmore University and University of Southampton are undertaking a joint two-year research whose recommendations will be used to tackle the issue.

The agency is finalising the road safety action plan, which will inform strategies to reduce road crashes.