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More than 1,600 people have died in road accidents since January this year, according to statistics released by a State agency.
The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) on Wednesday, May 24 noted that 1,679 people have died on Kenyan roads since January, with pedestrians leading at 571, while motorcycle accidents resulted in 449 fatalities.
However, pedestrian fatalities dropped by four per cent compared to the same period last year when 1,756 people died across the country.
NTSA has now partnered with ten counties on a road safety campaign targeting to reduce the number of fatal accidents in the country.
NTSA Director-General George Njau said his agency has increased signage along major roads and is also focusing on improving roads by fixing potholes.
Mr Njau noted that statistics indicated that all motorists were affected by fatal accidents, adding that the authority was working with other stakeholders to address this.
Addressing the press in Naivasha during a meeting with representatives from the 10 counties, he said the authority was rolling out intelligence road management and safety system targeting PSVs.
"This system will be able to monitor and track PSV drivers' speed, and we shall be rolling it out in the next couple of days," he said.
Under the programme with the counties, he said NTSA would help the devolved units come up with transport committees and address the rising cases of accidents involving boda boda operators.
"We shall be sharing our proposals with the Council of Governors on areas where counties can improve in addressing issues of road safety at the grassroots level," he said.
The authority's deputy director in charge of road safety, Dr Duncan Kibogong, cited pedestrians and motorcycle operators as the most affected by fatal accidents.
He said there was a decrease of four per cent in the number of fatalities this year compared to the same period last year.
Kibogong said 8,098 people had been involved in accidents this year compared to 7,848 in the same span of time last year.
Nathaniel Ng'ang'a, from Machakos County, lauded the road safety programme by NTSA, noting that it would go a long way in taming the rising cases of accidents.
"We are working with NTSA on how motorists can be assisted in processing required documents while training boda boda on road safety," he said.
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