Road accidents in the country have caused immense pain to many families, leaving children orphaned, others widowed and whole families deprived of their sole breadwinners, not to forget the thousands of others left with lifelong injuries that remind them of their near brush with death.
According to data from the 2023 economic survey, 4,690 deaths were reported on our roads in 2022 as compared 4,579 in 2021, presenting an increase of 111 fatalities and an increase of 2.4 percent.
Further Statistics from the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) show that as of October 2023, the country reported 3,609 deaths marking an 8.9 per cent drop compared to 2022 where 3,936 fatalities were reported in the same period. This can be attributed to efforts being made by stakeholders to tame road carnage.
NTSA estimates that 3,000 Kenyans die from road accidents every year – costing the country anywhere between 3-5 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). 83 percent of the fatalities were men, with individuals aged between 30-34 years being most at risk, thus robbing the country of a very productive age bracket. But the World Health Organisation (WHO) puts the figures much higher. Sadly, and clearly as the statistics from NTSA are showing, these numbers have been increasing every year.
Many of the accidents occur over the weekends and holidays with the hours 5:00PM-8:00AM being considered as peak accident hours with drunk driving and carelessness being cited as some of the major causes of these accidents.
The majority of these people who die in these accidents 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.
As the country and the globe at large prepares for annual festivities in the month of December, cases of road accidents during this period have been noted to increase as a result of people travelling to different destinations to spend their holidays.
Particularly, the increased activities on Kenyan roads during the month of December have been attributed to the high cases of accidents that are reported during the festive period, with many cases cited to happen as a result of reckless driving.
For the lucky ones who survive these scary ordeals and live to tell the story, life never remains the same. For instance, for Simon Mwangi from Mirera Estate in Naivasha, the memories of June 1, 2013 still linger fresh in his mind. On that fateful day, Mwangi together with his best friends were on their way back to Naivasha from Nakuru when the unexpected happened.
Upon arriving at Kikopey area along the Nakuru – Naivasha highway, their journey was cut short after the bus they travelling in crashed into an oncoming truck that had lost control, causing their bus to roll several times before landing in a ditch on the side of the road
Unfortunately, Mwangi’s two best friends lost their lives in the accident which left him in a coma in hospital with a fractured hip and other life threatening injuries.
Mwangi explains that the journey has not been an easy one, citing the high cost of treatment as a major challenge which has made it difficult for him to access quality healthcare that is necessary for full recovery for any victim of a road accident.
The tragic accident forced him to use crutches to ease mobility, rendering him unable to continue working and fend for his family.
Mwangi was lucky to get support from his employer who footed his bill as well as paying for his kids school fees as he continued to recuperate from home.
However, Mwangi, like many other survivors live with evocative, daunting memories from the traumatic incident, they regret travelling on that that particular day, losing his best buddies and the reality of living with an artificial hip as a result of the accident. He feels that all these could be avoided if all road users adhered to the traffic rules.
Kenya National Chamber of Commerce Nakuru County Vice Chairperson; Ruth Ndung’u’s story is no different from other road accident survivors.
She breaks down as she recounts the events of September 20 this year while on her way back to Naivasha from a meeting in Nakuru.
With a paltry two kilometers left to complete her journey that was to culminate in Naivasha, Ruth vividly remembers how while at the Delamere stop over point, an allegedly drunk driver forcefully joined the highway ignoring the warning from an oncoming trailer leading to a very fatal crash.
The good Samaritans who came to their rescue did more damage than good after she was mishandled leading to a further fracture on her leg that was already broken. This is a reminder that more Kenyans need to be trained in first aid.
She had to undergo a six hour surgery in order to give her back her lower limbs but the hope of ever walking again has since remained a mirage, as she currently uses the aid of crutches to move until she hopefully recovers completely.
Her appeal to the Government is to ensure that first responders to accident scenes are equipped with first aid skills so that they can be able to rescue victims in the appropriate manner to avoid further injuries as a result of mishandling.
These two incidents paint a clear picture of the situation on our roads and the impact left behind by accidents. The government has however tried to put in place various mitigation measures to curb the menace in a bid to save lives on our roads.
As the world commemorated this year’s World Remembrance Day for victims of road accidents on November 19, drunk driving, fatigue and speeding were pointed out as among the leading causes of accidents on our roads.
As part of the government’s efforts to tame road carnage the Kenya National Highways Authority (KENHA) is in the process of procuring and installing speed cameras on major highways to monitor road users.
This has been hailed as a game changer, especially in the counties of Nairobi, Nakuru, Kiambu and Machakos that lead in deaths as a result of road accidents, representing 36 per cent of the total fatalities recorded in 2022.
By Mabel Keya – Shikuku
