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More Kenyans perish in road accidents compared to Covid-19

By Hillary Kimuyu December 15th, 2020 2 min read

More Kenyans are losing their lives due to road accidents as compared to Covid-19, statistics from the National Transport and Safety Authority indicate.

155 people lost their lives in just ten days compared to 107 from the same period last year. In contrast,  109 people have succumbed to Covid-19 related complications during that period.

These deaths on the road come despite reduced travel as a result of the partial lockdown imposed earlier this year due to Covid-19, the ongoing curfew, and more people working from home.

A closer look at the traffic data as of December 13, 2020, reveals that fatalities have increased compared to the same time in 2019.

General statistics documented by the police and the NTSA show that road fatalities between January and December this year stood at 3,663, compared to 3,508, during the same period last year.

According to NTSA statistics, there was an increase of 9.4 per cent of the fatalities on the road compared to last year.

Between January and December 13, 2020, 3,663 people died on the road compared to 3,348 of the same period last year, translating to 215 fatalities.

Fewer deaths of passengers and pedestrians were recorded compared to 2019, according to the latest data from NTSA.

A 22.7 per cent decline was witnessed on the side of passengers with NTSA statistics recording 512 deaths so far compared to last year’s 668.

There was also a 1.3 decline on the side of pedestrians with the NTSA data showing that 1,287 people lost their lives compared to 1,305 who died last year.

Some 323 drivers have so far died on the road compared to 319 who died last year which translates to a 1.2 per cent increase.

However, the NTSA report also shows that 1,393 pedestrians were in the past 11 months seriously injured compared to 1,193 who were seriously injured in 2019, a 16.7 per cent increment.

Some 291 pedestrians were slightly injured in 2020, while 267 got slightly injured in 2019. 761 drivers were seriously injured compared to 416 while 539 were slightly injured in 2020 and 437 in 2019.

There was a decrease on the side of passengers where 1,864 were seriously injured this year compared to 2,474 in 2019, which translates to 24.7 per cent.

At the same time, 2,652 passengers were slightly injured according to NTSA, which was also a decrease of 20.8 per cent compared to 3,349 passengers who were slightly injured last year.

An increase in fatalities among pillion passengers, pedal cyclists and motor cyclists was recorded during the same period compared to the previous year.

Motor cyclists led with 1,046 which is 54.5 per cent increase from last year which had 677 fatalities. 2,026 were seriously injured compared to 1,246 in 2019 while 513 were slightly injured up from 318.

Pillion passengers also recorded a 31.6 per cent increment of fatalities compared to 2019, reporting 404 deaths against 307 from the previous year. 1,227 were seriously injured up from 778 translating to 57.7 per cent increment. 532 were slightly injured up from 365 from the same period.

On the other hand, 87 pedal cyclist perished on the road between January and December up from 72 from the same period last year. 96 were seriously injured compared to 71 from 2019, 21 were slightly injured with this year recording only 20 injuries.

According to World Health Organisation (WHO), Global Status Report on Road Safety, between 3,000 and 13,000 Kenyans lose their lives in road traffic crashes every year. The majority of these people are vulnerable road users – pedestrians, motorcyclists, and cyclists. In addition, nearly one-third of deaths are among passengers – many of whom are killed in unsafe forms of public transportation.