Kenya's road accidents not just killing people
September 20, 2005
Nairobi - Kenya's pot-holed roads claim up to 40 times more lives than northern Europe's, making the country one of the most dangerous places to drive in the world, an industry association said on Tuesday.
"We have one of the highest traffic related death rates in the world, with 3 000 people killed annually or 45 deaths per 10 000 registered vehicles," the Automobile Association of Kenya (AAK) said in a statement.
"This ratio is 30 to 40 times higher than Great Britain or Germany, which is a drain to our economy.... A significant proportion of (the victims) being young and productive men and women in the 15-45 years age bracket," AAK head David Njoroge said in the statement.
Road accidents cost the Kenyan economy about four billion shillings (R352 million) each year.
Most were caused by human error, lack of enforcement of traffic rules -which many officials blame on police corruption - and the poor state of roads and vehicles, the AAK said.
Njoroge said many of the deaths and injuries could be prevented if users respected traffic rules, and urged the government to take steps to slash the road death rate.
"It is time that we assumed full responsibility for what is happening and ensure that road safety is firmly established as a priority in the national policy agenda," he said.
Globally, more than 1.2 million lives are lost each year, and between 20 and 50 million people are physically disabled in road accidents, according to figures obtained from AAK. - AFP
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