Members of the public barricade the road at Ngeria on the Eldoret-Nakuru
Highway on August 21, 2015 after two brothers were knocked down by a
matatu. PHOTO |JARED NYATAYA | NATION MEDIA GROUP
Pedestrians are the most vulnerable road users in Kenya, a
report released by the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA)
shows.
Statistics released by NTSA show that 845
pedestrians were killed between January and August out of the total
1,971 deaths reported.
In that period, 456 passengers and 222 drivers were killed on the roads.
The
report however shows the number of pedestrians killed have reduced
compared to the same period last year where 867 deaths were reported.
The report also shows a 4.7 per cent increase in the total number of deaths caused by road crashes this year.
In the first eight months of 2014, 1,882 deaths were reported while 1,971 fatalities were recorded this year.
Traffic
Commandant Charlton Muriithi has blamed the high number of pedestrians
killed on the roads to behaviours that expose them to dangers.
“There
are designated footbridges and zebra crossings but people do not want
to use them. We try our best to force them to use them but old habits
die hard.
“In most cases, the hit and run accidents
happen at night and most of these people die due to lack of quick
medical attention,” he said.
The traffic commandant blamed drunk-driving and speeding to the high number of drivers killed in road crashes.
“There
are issues of national indiscipline. Even when we try to arrest drunk
drivers, people set up Alcoblow watch groups to alert them of
operations,” said Mr Muriithi
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