- The majority of those dead were men aged between 24 and 34, the agency says.
- The survey by agency shows most of these accidents happen between 4pm and 10pm.
Image: George Owiti
Close to 2,000 people have died in separate road accidents in the country in the past six months.
The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) said 1,968 people died since January this year translating to a 9.3 per cent increase in the fatalities as compared to the 1,800 that died similar period in 2021.
Thousands of others were injured and are nursing various wounds.
The agency said 622 pedestrians died in the period this year as compared to 586 in 2021 while some 545 motorcyclists died in the past six months as compared to the 514 that died in 2021.
The number of pillion passengers increased to 192 while 322 passengers were killed in the period as compared to the 295 who died in 2021.
Some 181 drivers died in the past six months down from 197 that died in the same period last year while 29 pedal cyclists died in the period as compared to 44 who perished last year.
The agency said Nairobi and Kiambu counties accounted for the majority of the accidents.
Nairobi had 521 cases while Kiambu had 460. The majority of those who died were men aged between 24 and 34, the agency says.
The survey by the agency shows most of these accidents happen between 4 pm and 10 pm.
The revelations came as another accident claimed six lives after a bus collided with a saloon car in Molomu area on the Thika-Mwingi highway on Tuesday.
Police reports indicate that the bus was ferrying an unknown number of passengers while the car had five people on board.
Four days ago, 11 people died after a 14-seater matatu they were travelling in veered off the road and rolled in the same area.
On Monday, five people died after a Nairobi-bound cargo train collided with a lorry at an intersection along the Eastern Bypass in Ruiru, Kiambu County.
Speeding, according to police, has been the main cause of the crashes.
Reckless driving, dangerous overtaking, drunk driving, drunk walking, drunk riding, and failure to use helmets among other issues have also been attributed to the increase in crashes.
NTSA said most of the accidents are preventable.
NTSA Director General George Njau said they plan to unveil an Integrated Transport Management System to curb road accidents.
The new applications will involve having modern speed limit checkers and authenticating valid road users’ documents, among others.
Njau said they have commissioned the National Enterprise Centre that will better the processing of key documents such as driving licenses by approximately 300 per cent.
NTSA said it had strengthened collaboration with law enforcers for harmonious execution of its mandate while at the same time providing access to vehicle records and licensing data to support security agencies.
It has also developed comprehensive, highly publicized road safety awareness campaigns and programmes among pedestrians, bodaboda riders, drivers of public service vehicles and heavy commercial vehicles aimed at behaviour change.