Northern Bypass Overtakes Outering As Kenya's Deadliest Road

Northern Bypass Overtakes Outering As Kenya’s Deadliest Road

By Jane Muia / Published January 20, 2023 | 10:01 am

KEY POINTS

NTSA also noted Nairobi county had the highest number of accident black spots. Of the 273 accident blackspots countrywide, more than 70 or about a quarter are in Nairobi.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

In terms of road users, motorcyclists were the most affected at 1,209 deaths an increase from the 1,154 recorded in 2021. They were followed by private vehicles which recorded 1,104 fatalities and commercial vehicles which claimed 1,079 lives. PSV followed by 626 fatalities.

Northern Bypass is now Kenya’s deadliest road, the latest data from the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) shows.

The study compiled by NTSA between January 1 and December 31, 2022, found that the Northern Bypass, Kangundo Road, Mombasa Road, Outering Road, and Thika Superhighway recorded the highest number of fatalities during the review period.

NTSA, however, did not reveal the number of accidents each road claimed.

NTSA also noted Nairobi county had the highest number of accident black spots. Of the 273 accident blackspots countrywide, more than 70 or about a quarter are in Nairobi.

They include the Haile Selassie-Railway roundabout and Riverside Drive junction.

Others are the Landhies-Kamukunji roundabout on Landhies Road, the JKIA Airport turnoff, St Teresa junction in Eastleigh, the Burma footbridge on Jogoo Road, and Blue Post Bridge on Thika Super Highway.

“Nairobi County recorded the highest number of fatalities countrywide in 2022 with a total of 499 deaths. This is a slight reduction from the previous year which had 521 fatalities,” said NTSA

Nairobi was followed by Kiambu county, which recorded 484 deaths, an increase from the 460 recorded in the previous year. Others are Nakuru (389), Machakos (264), Murang’a (190), Meru (161), Uasin Gishu (148), and Kakamega 131 deaths.

Counties that had low fatalities in 2022 were Wajir and Mandera which recorded one fatal injury each, followed by Isiolo (5), Marsabit (10), and Lamu (14).

Most of these accidents occurred over the weekends. Sunday recorded the highest number of fatalities in 2022 at 896 up from 816 in 2021. It was followed by Saturdays at 819 fatalities, Friday (669), Monday(656) Wednesday (557), Tuesday(551), and Thursday at 527 deaths.

According to NTSA, most fatal road crashes occur between 4 pm and 9 pm with the peak being between 6 pm and 8 pm.

NTSA had earlier cautioned motorists to be careful on roads for the safety of all road users including pedestrians.