- Statistics from the National Transport Safety Authority (NTSA) show that 4,324 lives were lost on the roads through preventable crashes.
- According to the authority, the number of road fatalities has been increasing since 2018 with 80 percent of the crashes caused by human behavior.
At least 11 people died daily through road crashes in 2023.
Statistics from the National Transport Safety Authority (NTSA) show that 4,324 lives were lost on the roads through preventable crashes.
According to the authority, the number of road fatalities has been increasing since 2018 with 80 percent of the crashes caused by human behavior.
The authority’s Road Safety Strategy Manager Samwel Musumba said the behaviours include fatigue, speeding, medical conditions, drunk driving, mental health and wellness, financial-related issues/stress, journey planning and management.
"From our investigations, we’ve seen a lot of speeding when it’s raining yet this is preventable. During Easter and Ramadan, we saw a surge of crashes as a result of drunk driving," Musumba told the Star.
Musumba was speaking in a safety sensitization program to journalists.
Already 1,189 lives have been lost through such crashes since January 2024.
The NTSA has now opted to adopt the ‘Safe System’ approach to save lives lost through preventable crashes. This is a holistic approach towards road safety.
The system that integrates road design and safety as integral components has successfully been implemented in the Netherlands and Sweden.
The key focus of the Safe System approach is to reduce death and serious injuries through design that accommodates human errors and injury tolerances.
The system addresses the safety of all road users including those who walk, bike, drive and travel by other modes.
It is estimated that road carnage costs Kenya's economy a staggering Sh450 billion annually.
The authority unveiled a comprehensive set of strategies to enhance road safety for all users.
Key initiatives include improvements to road infrastructure, vehicle safety standards, stricter enforcement measures, heightened public awareness campaigns, post-crash care services, promotion of safe driving practices road safety database, and monitoring and evaluation systems.
"This plan is very critical for us as a country because we are focusing on how are we going to address this road safety challenge. We hope that the priority issues are going to help us deal with these deadly crashes," Musumba said.
Bright Oywaya, a road safety advocate and former NTSA vice chair said time has come for the country to adopt the safety system approach to save lives on our roads.
"We now need to look at transport as a system therefore when a crash happens we are not only looking at the behaviour of the driver which is the easiest thing we normally do but we are also looking at the infrastructure, we also looking at the vehicle condition," she told the Star.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that more than 1.35 million people die every year on the world’s roads and another up to 50 million sustain non-fatal injuries as a result of the crashes.