Only behaviour change will end deaths on the roads

Soy Traffic Commander Joel Njoroge (in blue) and other officers inspect a vehicle that was involved in an accident along the Eldoret-Kitale road. [Peter Ochieng, Standard]

More than 3,000 people die annually in traffic accidents on Kenyan roads, and about 15,000 in East Africa. More than 75 per cent of road traffic casualties are economically productive young people.

Pedestrians and passengers are the most vulnerable; they account for 80 per cent of the deaths. This number is bigger than that of malaria, HIV and Aids plus Marburg and Ebola combined, and this number can easily double if nothing is done now to stop the carnage.

The majority of road accidents on our roads are preventable. Poor road safety culture and failure to strictly enforce traffic rules are to blame for the high accidents causality rates. Statistics indicate that Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania have some of the highest road fatality rates globally.

Though the roads might be narrow or dilapidated like some claim, vehicle brake systems won't fail because a road is dilapidated. World Health Organization (WHO) statistics show that 90 per cent of road fatalities occur in developing countries, home to less than half of the World's registered vehicles.

The number of road fatalities is set to double by 2025 globally. Road carnage kills more people than tuberculosis in poor nations. They are the leading cause of death among young people aged 18-31 years. There have been a lot of adverts on drunk driving, but Kenyans have chosen to ignore them.

WHO has singled out road accidents as a major public health concern in developing nations. Essentially, this means that fatalities are no longer regarded as mere government statistics but a serious public health and development challenge requiring urgent global action. In Kenya, majority of the accidents involve buses, matatus and now motorcycles popularly known as 'boda boda'.

Incidentally, many hospitals in East Africa now have special wards dedicated to patients nursing injuries from accidents involving boda boda's. The fact is that many Kenyans rely on buses, matatu's and boda boda's to commute, hence the need for more energy and resource to be focused on enhancing safety in the public transport system.

We can implement road safety management, safer roads and enhanced post- crash response. This calls for closer collaboration between governments in East Africa. Some of these buses operate from Mombasa to Kampala- Dar-el-Salam via Nairobi. Monitoring the drivers is important.

In Kenya's case we could go a few steps further by seeking to change our road culture. Improving road safety has to start with the individual. Attitudinal shifts are required to instil Kenya's culture of safe road usage. It entails observing speed limits, proper vehicle maintenance and respecting other road users, including cyclists and pedestrians.

The government must also encourage the private sector to start special inspections for buses, Lorries etcetera.

As the number of vehicles increases and the physical road infrastructure gets better, enhancing safety practices will certainly minimize the number of facilities. That way, we will reduce the carnage on our roads.

-Mr. Okwaro is an analyst.