Some 265 people have died in various accidents in the country since January 1.

This is an increase of 32 per cent of the incidents compared to the same period last year.

National Traffic Commandant Mary Omari said some 201 people had died in accidents in the same period last year. 

Pedestrians account for the majority of fatalities, with Nairobi leading with 85 people, followed by the Western region that leads in motorcycle accidents.

More than 400 people are nursing wounds over the separate accidents.

The latest incident happened in Homa Bay, where a trailer ferrying sugarcane overturned.

Omari called on motorists to exercise caution on the road and added the country is losing many people to accidents.

“Safety on our roads remains a matter of great concern to the government and the general public. We are losing many of our people on road crashes, leaving many households without a breadwinner and children orphaned,” Omari said.

By the end of 2021, some 4,579 people had been killed in accidents in the country and 16,046 others nursing injuries. Some 3,500 people died in 2020. 

According to the police, speeding has been the main cause of the crashes. 

Reckless driving, dangerous overtaking, drunk driving, drunk walking, drunk riding, failure to use helmets, among other issues, have also been attributed to the increase in crashes.

The National Transport and Safety Authority said most of the accidents are preventable.

NTSA said it had strengthened collaboration with law enforcers for harmonious execution of its mandate while at the same time providing access to vehicle records and licensing data to support security agencies.

It has also developed comprehensive, highly publicized road safety awareness campaigns and programmes among pedestrians, bodaboda riders, drivers of public service vehicles and heavy commercial vehicles aimed at behaviour change. By Cyrus Ombati, The Star