525 Died During 2017’s Festive Season, Take Extra Caution on the Roads

The festive season is here, promotions have already kicked in with the marking of Black Friday. Schools have closed and we are only five days to the end of Kenya Certificate of Secondary School Education (KCSE), never mind that the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) results are already out.

Habits die hard and this is most apparent amongst Kenyans. Festive seasons bring a mass exodus of Nairobi residents traveling upcountry. The exodus has already begun with the young ones being transported upcountry. The hustle, tough economic times and congestion in the city has been blamed for the migration this year, unlike previous times when the habit was for the purpose of bonding.

The mass exodus, unfortunately, comes with the increased loss of lives given the greed amongst most Kenyans and hiking of fare prices. As you and your family plan to travel for this year’s holidays seek transport from Bus companies that are known to be professional and disciplined. There are those that never ever hike prices but require prior booking that goes all the way to a month before travel during the festive season. It is important to that Kenyan passengers learn to demand responsible driving instead of giving ‘sorry stories’ of how ‘they all saw it coming’ but did not speak out.

Road Accident Fatality Statistics in Kenya

Data Credits: NTSA

In 2017, road fatalities from 1st January to 28th December were 2,856, this means 238 people died on the roads every month in Kenya. That alone should cause concern in a country where many have been arrested for drunk driving.

In 2017, pedestrian deaths contributed 36.7 percent, passengers 25.7 percent; drivers who died were 10.9 percent while motorcyclists were 17.2 percent. Nobody really ever wishes for an accident to occur but several factors like driving while under the influence of any drugs, without the required license and while one is obviously exhausted have been known to not only risk the driver and passengers’ life but that of other road users.

2017’s festive season also saw 525 people die from road fatalities during 2nd November to 28th December which brings the number of deaths from 238 to 263 deaths. The data clearly shows that road fatalities during the festive season increased.