The Cabinet Secretary for Roads and Transport Hon Kipchumba Murkomen has announced plans to form a new indipendent unit to probe the rising cases of roads accidents in the country. This will come with the necessary oversight and will also be in charge of accidents investigations for air, road and railway. The entity will be expected to give actual and indipendent outcomes regarding accidents investigations which will be used to improve the general safety will travelling.
The road accidents deaths reported in 2023 was 3,999 from 4,352 in the same period last year, hence a reduction of the accidents, though the statistics is still high. Of the 3,999 accidents reported for this year, 1451 were pedestrians, 358 were drivers, 682 were passengers, 363 were pillion passengers (principally the persons who are on a ride in a motor cycle or bicycle or scooter/horses/donkeys), 83 pedals cyclists and 1,062 were motor cyclists. In 2023, the road traffic victims also reduced from 9,698 in 2022 to 8,974 in 2023. These statistics shows that all of us should be concerned about road accidents because it has the probability of affecting us directly, our loved ones and the greater nation of Kenya at large if urgent is not taken and sustained.
It is a well-known fact that road accidents should be well addressed and handled because the road and highway transport in Kenya constitute the most important mode of transport where about 93 percent of freight and passengers move and are transported on the road. This is because Kenya is rapidly urbanising and as its road network expands, more persons and goods are being moved through these roads and hence high susceptibility to road traffic crashes. It should be noted that the road traffic injuries are a leading cause of death and permanent disabilities worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that about 1.19 million persons die from the road injuries and crashes globally, though it has reduced by over 5 percentage from what it used to be. These deaths jeopardize the achievements of the aspirations of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is for this reason that SDG target 3.6 requires stakeholders to work towards reducing the number of road fatalities, through strategies like sensitization of road users on road safety measures; road safety campaigns and other communication strategies. It is important to note that the road user behaviour, particularly how drivers behave on the road –whether its wrong overtaking, driving on the wrong lane and obstruction; compliance with the traffic laws and regulations; in addition to the road designs – causes traffic jams, incidences, and loss of life on the roads. Dr Giti is an urban management, public – private partnerships (PPP) and environment specialist. mutegigiti@gmail.com , @danielgiti
Dr. Daniel Mutegi Giti 