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Only 22pc of Kenyans say pedestrians have a role to play in road safety/XINHUA-File

Kenya

Poll shows little regard for road safety in Kenya

Media reports indicate that 3,056 fatalities were recorded as a result of road accidents in Kenya in 2010, while 110 pedestrians lost their lives out of 276 fatalities on Kenyan roads in December 2011.

The Ipsos Synovate boss explained that 16 percent of respondents blamed poor road conditions for road accidents, 8 percent attributed them to drivers using mobile phones while driving while 7 percent blamed pedestrians.

Four percent said corruption was the cause, for instance, where police take bribes instead of arresting traffic offenders, while 3 percent blamed accidents on unroadworthy vehicles.

These finding were consistent across all the eight provinces.

Safaricom Corporate Communication Affairs Manager Nzioka Waita said with the shocking statistics on the state of road safety in Kenya; various corporate firms will be launching a National Road Safety Trust next Wednesday.

He stated: “my appeal to media is, this is not a two minute clip that should be shelved between salacious political stories. Kenyans are dying at a rate that is alarming. This is a national issue; this is something we must hold our leaders to account and to be able to explain to us what the future is in terms of policy and reform measures to make Kenya a safer place for you to be on the road.”

Addressing the problems of road safety in Kenya will require an integrated approach that would cover motorists and pedestrian sensitisation, enforcement of traffic rules, road safety data management, use of technology (speed guns), installation of improvement of road infrastructure

The initiative which is done in conjunction with the Media Owners Association points out that it is critical to put in place an effective transparent and corrupt free mechanism that will enable enforcement of traffic rules.

It cites road infrastructure such as signage, pedestrian walks, drainages, speed bumps, speed limits, road markings, street lighting as key elements in road safety.

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