• Pateroi said it is important for drivers to observe speed limits.
• He urged drivers to be cautious on the road and consider other road users.
Image: WILLISH ADUR
Speeding has been cited as the leading cause of death and injuries in road crashes globally.
This is even as road experts push to reduce road accidents by 50 per cent by 2030.
Reports by the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) and the Kenya Police show that about 4,000 Kenyans lose their lives through road crashes annually. The number increased by about five per cent in 2022.
Speaking in Mombasa during World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, NTSA deputy regional director for Coast John Pateroi said it is important for drivers to observe speed limits.
He attributed most of the road crashes witnessed in the country to human error.
“We are here to push for zero road crashes because 90 per cent of crashes are caused by human error, mechanical error contributes less than 10 per cent,” Pateroi said.
He urged drivers to be cautious on the road and consider other road users.
“It’s important we become cautious on the road, observe speed limits and consider other users of the road, especially pedestrians and ensure vehicles are well maintained and well serviced,” Pateroi said.
World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims is commemorated on the third Sunday of November every year.
It is a global event to remember the millions of people who have been killed and seriously injured in road accidents. The day is also meant to acknowledge the suffering of the affected families and communities.
About 1.2 million people lose their lives in road carnage across the world and millions left with life-threatening injuries.
Pateroi said NTSA is working closely with the Mombasa government on transport systems that will separate pedestrian footpaths from vehicle lanes to take care of non-motorised transport.
“We have realised several challenges with our roads one being engineering which we are keen to look at so that we separate pedestrians from vehicles. We are working with agencies like Kenha so that we construct roads to ensure we separate pedestrians from vehicles,” he said.
Mombasa transport and infrastructure chief officer Albert Keino said the county was committed to ensuring vulnerable road users are protected through enforcement measures and designs to ensures people are safe.
Keino said the county has partnered with the Bloomberg Initiative for Global Road Safety to redesign the streets of Mombasa to ensure pedestrians and all other road users are safe.
Bloomberg Initiative for Global Road Safety is a multi-country programme that aims to reduce road crash fatalities and injuries and is supported by Bloomberg Philanthropists.
“We acknowledge that sustainable cities are for people to live in that is why we are trying to reclaim the streets to be safe areas for people to live. The streets are for everybody not only for cars,” Keino said.
The county and Bloomberg are expected to launch a road safety report on November 28 that is expected to mitigate challenges faced on roads in Mombasa.
Bloomberg initiative for global road safety communications coordinator Kevin Ismail said they have been offering technical support to the county as they push for safer roads.
The support has been inform of surveillance, enforcement and communication and rolling out mass media campaigns on road safety outlining speeding as a major factor.
“We try to promote road safety in city and make the public understand that speeding is a major risk of road crashes. We plan to roll out mass media campaigns on speeding as a major risk factor because we want to achieve safer streets in Mombasa,” Ismail said.