Why your 18-year-old may likely die from road crash

Young people aged between 18 and 29 are at a higher risk of being involved in a fatal road crash, a new report shows.

Out of at least six per cent of respondents who were involved in a road crash in the past 12 months, the age bracket 18-29 accounted for the highest number, according to the Kenya STEPwise survey for non-communicable diseases (NCD) risk factors 2015.

“The age group 18 -29 years has the highest percentage of involvement in a road crash, followed by 30-44. Men are more likely (nine per cent) to be involved in an accident than women (three per cent),” reads the report.

It was found out that those within the 18-29 age group were the most likely to defy personal safety measures like wearing a seat belt, helmet or driving while drunk.

The survey, a Ministry of Health project, is the first nationally representative survey to collect comprehensive information on risk factors for NCDs and injuries.

Men were the most vulnerable to road crashes at 10.2 per cent, compared to women 2.8 per cent.

The age group of 60-69 was safer, with a probability of 4.3 per cent. The probabilities were even higher for urban dwellers at seven per cent compared with five per cent from rural areas.

“About 54 per cent of all the respondents who were involved in a road crash were seriously injured. Men account for 59 per cent compared with women at 41 per cent,” noted the report.

The age group of 45 to 59 years topped with 66 per cent serious injuries, followed by 30-44 (62 per cent), 60 to 69 years (50 per cent), with the most vulnerable age group of 18-29 having the least percentage of serious injuries at 45 per cent.

And “80 eight per cent of the respondents do not always use a seat belt and 90 per cent and 85 per cent of women and men respectively do not always use a seat belt,” read the report.

Those aged 18 to 29 years are the most notorious for not wearing seat belts at 90.7 per cent.