Deaths arising from road accidents are on an upward trend despite efforts to reduce them, a new survey shows.
The Economic Survey 2019 released yesterday shows traffic deaths increased by eight per cent to 3,153 in 2018.
The survey shows that the number of reported accidents increased from 4,452 in 2017 to 5,144 last year (15.5 per cent).
"The number of persons who sustained serious injuries increased by 18.5 per cent over the same period," the survey reads.
In 2017, some 2,919 people perished on Kenyan roads compared to 2,965 who perished in 2016.
In 2015, 3,057 perished compared to 2,907 the previous year.
The number of persons who sustained serious injuries increased by 18.5 per cent.
In 2014, some 5,140 people were seriously injured against 4,731 in 2015.
Further, 4,661 were seriously injured in 2016 as compared to 3,943 in 2017.
Some 4,353 people were slightly injured in 2017 against the 5,028 of 2018.
This worrying state comes even as the survey shows that registration of new motor vehicles increased from 91,071 units in 2017 to 102,036 units last year (12 per cent)
The number of newly registered station wagons rose for the second consecutive year to 64,179 while panel vans and pick-ups increased by 13.7 per cent last year.
Similarly, the number of newly registered trailers increased by 6.7 per cent to 2,083 units while wheeled tractors rose by 49.5 per cent to 4,040 units last year. The number of new mini-buses registered almost doubled from 459 in 2017 to 812.
The registration of saloon cars continued to decline with 10,504 units registered.
In addition, the number of newly registered lorries and trucks; and buses and coaches declined for the third year in a row to 6,514 units and 1,065 units, respectively.
The general decline in new registration of buses, lorries and trucks is partly explained by the availability of rail freight and passenger services since 2017.
The value of output from road transport sub-sector increased by 12.1 per cent from Sh698.1 billion in 2017 to Sh782.9 billion last year.
The value of output from passenger traffic, on the other hand, increased by 11.9 per cent to Sh390.1 billion last year while that from freight traffic expanded by 12.4 per cent to Sh392.8 billion.
(Edited by R.Wamochie)
