Pedestrians top fatalities on roads: NTSA
Pedestrians have recorded the highest number of deaths in road accidents since the start of the year, new data shows.
According to the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), road accidents have claimed at least 3,056 lives between January 1 and August 27, 2024.
Some 2,910 deaths had been recorded in the same period last year.
“Since the year started 7,114 Kenyans have been involved in road accidents, marking an increase of 703 compared to last year. A total of 3,674 were seriously injured and 585 suffered minor injuries,” NTSA said.
According to the report, pedestrians continue to bear the brunt of road carnage, with a 15 per cent increase to 1,177 compared to 1,044 who lost their lives by the same date in 2023.
Similarly, the number of passengers killed rose by 15 per cent, with at least 595 losing their lives in road crashes, compared to 519 in 2023. Two hundred and sixty two drivers also lost their lives.
The data, however, showed a slight decrease in deaths involving motorcyclists, which stood at 710 compared to 756 recorded same period in 2023.
Two hundred and fifty nine pillion passengers died, compared to 269 recorded last year.
The data adds that the number of pedal cyclist fatalities also fell to 53 from 60 registered in 2023.
Last year, more than 4,300 people were killed on roads while the rest – from the 22,885 that were involved in accidents – were left with life-changing injuries.
There are increasing reports of serious road accidents from across the country. They include last week’s collision of a bus and several vehicles on the Eldoret-Nakuru highway.
The bus hit a stationary lorry and a car before veering off the road and rolling, witnesses said.
It came shortly after another bus accident on the same highway in Migaa that left 14 people dead, including the driver, and 55 injured.
In yet another accident, two people died and at least 20 others were injured when a school bus and a lorry collided on the Gitaru-Kikuyu road.
Last Sunday, five people died in a collision involving an oil tanker, a tractor and a station wagon on the Eldoret-Malaba highway, while two other passengers are said to have suffered serious injuries.
The oil tanker, witnesses and survivors said, was heading in the Malaba direction, while the tractor loaded with building materials and the small car were from the opposite direction.
An accident claimed two lives on the Mombasa-Nairobi highway on Wednesday.
The brand new SUV that was being delivered to its owner in Nairobi was written off.
The accident occurred in Maji ya Chumvi around 7am. The place is a blackspot, having claimed many lives before.
The NTSA estimates that 3,000 people die in road accidents every year, with many of the accidents occurring on weekends, during festivities and public holidays.
The hours between 5pm and 8am are considered the peak time for accidents, with drink-driving and carelessness cited as some of the main causes of the carnage.
