Motorcycles now fastest rising cause of death on Kenyan roads

But on the flip-side, the motorcycles have become a safety concern that requires urgent attention owing to the shocking number of fatalities as a result of accidents involving bikes.

New data by the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) show that deaths among motor-cyclists is now the fastest rising among all categories of road users, including pedestrians, motor vehicle drivers and their passengers as well as pedal cyclists.

Between January and July 12, 2016 alone the NTSA recorded 295 deaths of motor cyclists, a 31 per cent jump from a similar period in 2015.

This was the highest increase of the number of deaths, dwarfing other categories, including pedestrians who had become a menace especially in urban areas such as Nairobi.

Biggest challenge

NTSA director general Francis Meja blamed the increase in the number of deaths of motor cyclists on the proliferation of motorcycles in Kenya and the recklessness of the riders.

“It is estimated that we are on average registering 9,000 motorcycles every month but the biggest challenge is the misbehaviour of these motorcyclists on the road, they are not observing any traffic regulations on the road,” he said.

There is no official data on the number of motorcycles on Kenyan roads but reports indicate that 9,000 new motorcycles are registered each month, which brings the 134,500 total recorded last year to almost 200,000.

Sales of motorcycles have grown a number of times, due to the increased demand and the entry of cheaper models from China.

Although the overall number of motor cyclists killed remains lower than fatalities among pedestrians and motor vehicle drivers and passengers, the pace at which the number of bike-related deaths is growing is fastest and worrying to policy makers.

Mr Meja said the newly published NTSA Motorcycle Regulations 2015 are expected to help tame rogue cyclists.

The new regulations will, for instance, make it a traffic offence to carry more than one passenger on a motorcycle.

Additionally, riders will be required to carry valid documentation, ensure that they and their passengers wear reflector jackets and helmets, and ensure that their headlights are on at all times.

Enforcement also goes beyond riders and stretches to owners of motorcycles who will be required to, among other things, ensure that the riders working for them have documents such as licences, the motorcycles are road-worthy and are insured, and they have two helmets and two reflector jackets.

Motorcycle vendors will be required to issue two helmets and two reflector jackets for every motorcycle that they sell. Vendors who are non-compliant will have their dealership licences revoked by NTSA.

The agency has also embarked on sensitisation to educate the public on laws and the need to embrace safety as a rider or a pillion.

Last month, the agency met with county commissioners as a way of getting the safety message to all corners of the country.

“If we are to tackle this issue, it goes down to the village. The county commissioners are charged with cascading the regulations of motorcycles down to up to level of chiefs. It is a programme that is ongoing and we have a number of programmes that we want to push through to support.”

He added that the sensitisation aims at educating people on the existing laws before the agency can resume a countrywide crackdown.

The NTSA data showed that deaths due to jaywalking have reduced significantly since January compared to a similar period of 2015. Some 638 deaths were recorded among pedestrians over the seven months to July 12, 2016, down from 696 in a similar period in 2015, an 8.3 per cent drop.

The decrease in numbers is attributable to the campaigns aimed at encouraging pedestrians to use foot bridges and pedestrian crossing areas,” the agency said.

The number of deaths among pedestrians are expected to drop further as the NTSA installs safety panels on key roads across major towns, starting with Nairobi.

The panels are meant to discourage pedestrians from crossing roads from undesignated areas and help bring down fatalities in Nairobi County, which accounted for 75 per cent of pedestrian deaths in Kenya last year.

NTSA last year announced the construction of 15.3 kilometres of pedestrian fences to boost the use of footbridges, along five key roads in Nairobi, where most pedestrian accidents are reported.

The Sh310 million safety panels are to be built in partnership with businesses in the country, who get free advertising after covering the erection costs of Sh56, 771 for each 2.8m piece.

The roads targeted are Jogoo Road, Landhies Road, Waiyaki Way, Mombasa Road and Airport North Road.

According to the 2015 road performance report by NTSA, Mombasa Road was the most dangerous, claiming 251 lives despite the building of several footbridges along the road last year.

Thika Road was second claiming 61 road users while 49 died on Waiyaki Way. An estimated 3,000 deaths from road crashes occur annually in Kenya and about 40 per cent are pedestrians, according to NTSA.

“Nairobi County accounts for 75 per cent of pedestrian fatalities in Kenya. Some of the interventions that we have put in place is guardrails to encourage people to use footbridges, so these are some of the benefits that we are realising. We are urging more companies to come on board to erect some of these guardrails,” Mr Meja said.