Speeding has been identified as the major contributing factor to road fatalities in Mombasa County according to a status summary report on road safety risk factors conducted between December 2022 and October 2023.
The report by the John Hopkins International Injury Research Unit through the Bloomberg Philanthropies initiative also states that the number of deaths from road crashes has remained stable since 2021 at 69 percent.
The report mainly captures observations of four risk factors that lead to road fatalities which include, speed, helmet use, seat belt, and child restraint use.
It further states that 26 percent of vehicles observed were overspeeding, with only 19 percent of motorists wearing helmets correctly.
The use of safety belts among vehicle occupants was at 24 percent and child restraint use among children below twelve years was almost non-existent, at 1 percent.
Speaking during the launch of the Mombasa Status Summary Report on road safety Associate Prof. Abdulgafoor Bachani from John Hopkins International Injury Research Unit said that motorcyclists, pedestrians, and bicyclists accounted for 88 percent of reported road traffic fatalities in 2022.
Bachani said higher speed leads to a greater risk of crash and a higher probability of serious injury.
“An increase of one kilometer per hour in average vehicle speed results in an increase of 3 percent in the incidences of crashes resulting in injury and an increase of 4-5 percent in the incidence of fatal crashes,” he said.
The report recommends that the county enhance enforcement of speed limits across the city on both weekdays and weekends, make enforcement operations regular, visible, and widespread, and advocate for correct helmet and seat belt use.
The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has also been requested to implement a maximum speed limit of 30km/h on roadways in designated areas where motorized traffic mixes with pedestrians and cyclists, and 50km/h in urban areas.
Other recommendations include NTSA to advocate for enforcement of disposable helmet liners, a standard developed by the Kenya Bureau of Standards for motorcyclists.
NTSA Director George Njao said Mombasa is the only county in the country that has managed to flatten the curve when it comes to road crashes.
Njao lauded the Mombasa County Inspectorate Department for a good job in introducing the happy hour during rush hours to reduce traffic jams, urging other counties to start emulating the system.
He said in the NTSA safety plan there are some strategies they emulated from the county.
“Mombasa has been a pioneer of several initiatives including the pedestrian walk and the only other county that has managed to copy that is Kisumu,” he said.
He said the authority is ready to work with all agencies and other stakeholders towards enforcing road safety and behavioral change from motorists and other road users.
Mombasa County Executive Member for Transport and Infrastructure Daniel Manyala said the county government will introduce other safety measures to ensure the safety of road users.
He said the data and recommendations from the report will be useful in the formulation of policies and taking the right measures to make the road safe for pedestrians and motorists.
“We are planning on introducing three Bills at the county assembly which are the transport and Infrastructure bill, the Non-Motorized Transport policy, and the Road Safety policy,” he said.
By Chari Suche
