Capital claims quarter of road deaths

What you need to know:

  • Nairobi does not just lead in the number of deaths but also in death rate, with 17 deaths for every 100,000 people.
  • The most fatal road crashes in Nairobi occur from 6pm to 9pm, with an additional spike in deaths between 6am and 7am.
  • From January to November this year, the county recorded about 603 road traffic deaths and nearly half of them take place on nine high risk roads.
  • Eight counties including Elgeyo Marakwet, Laikipia, Mandera, Marsabit, Samburu, Turkana, Wajir and West Pokot recorded less than 10 road deaths.

Nairobi County accounts for one in four reported road traffic deaths in Kenya, a review of road traffic data in the first 11 months of 2015 reveals.
The capital was followed by Nakuru with eight per cent. Mombasa, Kakamega and Machakos, each with four per cent, round off the top five. During this time no deaths were reported in Lamu and Tana River counties.

When Nation Newsplex adjusted the road traffic deaths for population, it was clear Nairobi does not just lead in the number of deaths but also in death rate, with 17 deaths for every 100,000 people.

The most fatal road crashes in Nairobi occur from 6pm to 9pm, with an additional spike in deaths between 6am and 7am.

Taita Taveta is in second place with 13 deaths per 100,000 people while Nakuru is in third place with 12 deaths per 100,000 people. Mombasa and Baringo tied with 10 deaths per 100,000 round off the top five.

However, road safety experts say the Nation Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) and police figures do not reflect the full scale of death and injury on the roads as many incidents go unreported.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated that the death rate on Kenyan roads in 2013 was 29 deaths per 100,000 while an analysis of NTSA data puts the rate at less than a third that, about six per 100,000 people.

Part of the reason why reported death rates from police in Kenya differ so much with WHO estimates is because while the global standard is that anyone who dies as a result of a traffic crash injury within 30 days should be recorded as a road traffic death, the police in Kenya record the people who die on the scene of the crashes, or within hours, but rarely follow up with the hospital or community.

Dr Kibogong says NTSA is currently working to ensure Kenyan conforms to these global standards.

PASSENGERS DIE ON FRIDAY

Underreported or not, the numbers are still too high when compared to the developed countries which are more motorised than Kenya. Take Sweden, the country with the second-safest roads in the world.

Although the Scandinavian country has three times as many cars as Kenya and two times more people than Nairobi, in 2013 its total reported deaths, 260, was equivalent to less than half the number of deaths that Nairobi reported in the first 11 months of this year, 603.

The disparity is made starker when one considers that Sweden is one of the countries that adhere to global standards of reporting road crash casualties which makes its numbers almost the same as the WHO estimates.

Why does Nairobi lead the rest of the country by such a wide margin? The reasons are simple, the city has more risk factors than any other county. It has more roads, more cars and more people.

“For a crash to occur three things must be present. There must be a road, a road user and a vehicle. In Nairobi there is more exposure,” says Duncan Kibogong, a deputy director at NTSA.

He says Nairobi has more high-risk smooth roads, which encourage speeding and increase the risk of collisions, fewer pedestrian crossings, more rampant drunk driving, and more poorly trained motorcyclists.

On the Southern Bypass pedestrian deaths are as high as almost 90 per cent of all deaths.

The most fatal road crashes in Nairobi occur from 6pm to 9pm, with an additional spike in deaths between 6am and 7am. The most deadly day on Nairobi roads this year was Sunday for motor cyclists and drivers, Saturday for pedestrians and Friday of passengers.

Saturday had the highest number of deaths overall.

THE NAIROBI PEDESTRIAN

From January to November this year, the county recorded about 603 road traffic deaths and nearly half of them take place on nine high risk roads – Mombasa Road, Thika Road, Kangundo Road, Eastern Bypass, Southern Bypass, Northern Bypass North Airport Road, Waiyaki Way and Jogoo Road.

On the Southern Bypass pedestrian deaths are as high as almost 90 per cent of all deaths.

Whereas pedestrians make up half of all deaths on the road across Kenya, they account for 75 per cent of all deaths in Nairobi. Drivers account for seven per cent, motor cyclists seven per cent, and passengers nine per cent. Pedal cyclists made up two per cent of the dead and pillion passengers one per cent.

Statistics in Nakuru, the county with the second highest share of road traffic deaths and third highest death rate, mirror national averages. About 50 per cent of the 220 deaths were pedestrians, 22 per cent were passengers and 16 per cent were drivers, while pillion passengers (those who sit behind the driver) and pedal cyclists represented four per cent each.

Eight counties including Elgeyo Marakwet, Laikipia, Mandera, Marsabit, Samburu, Turkana, Wajir and West Pokot recorded less than 10 road deaths.