Let's make roads in urban centres safer

Pedestrians within Kenyan urban centres face the ever present danger of getting hit by vehicles and motorcycles. This is largely because towns lack walkways and safe crossing points.

Those at risk are mainly school children and the elderly. As a result, urgent measures need to be taken to make towns safer for pedestrians and also make vehicular movement easier.

Speed management, infrastructure and street design as well as vehicle regulations and technologies that protect occupants and pedestrians, can combine to deliver a safe system. Using speed policy to reduce kinetic energy released in a road traffic collision is central to enabling a forgiving road environment. In urban areas where vehicles move in close proximity to pedestrians, cyclists and other road users, this is particularly important.

There are various causes and effects of road accidents. First, people make mistakes that can lead to road crashes. Also, the human body has a known, limited physical ability to tolerate crash forces before harm occurs.

While individuals have a responsibility to act with care and within traffic laws, a shared responsibility exists with those who design, build, manage and use roads and vehicles to prevent crashes resulting in serious injury or death and to provide post-crash care. All parts of the system must also be strengthened to multiply their effects, and road users are still protected if one part fails.

The National Transport and Safety Authority identifies human error, disregard of existing traffic laws, speeding, overloading and dangerous driving, existence of unqualified drivers, poor enforcement of traffic laws, corruption, lack of adequate infrastructure for pedestrians and intermediate modes of transport as the main causes of accidents on our roads.