‘Losing Control’ Blamed For Close To 1,000 Fatalities- NTSA Report
According to the annual report by the government agency, the cause led to 929 fatalities, more than the second cause indicated as ‘cause not traced’ at a distant 575.
Marvin Chege 
Losing control was cited as the leading cause of road accidents in Kenya in 2023, according to a new report by the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA).
According to the annual report by the government agency, the cause led to 929 fatalities, more than the second cause indicated as ‘cause not traced’ at a distant 575.
Lane indiscipline followed in third at 491 fatalities then overtaking improperly at 443 fatalities. Misjudging clearance, distance or speed completed the top five at 310 fatalities.
NTSA’s report indicated that 4,324 people died in road accidents in 2023, with the most affected being pedestrians and motorcyclists. 1,591 pedestrians lost their lives to road accidents while 1,133 motorcyclists lost their lives to road accidents as well.
Car wreckage from a road accident that claimed the life of Kelvin Kiptum on February 11, 2024. /THE TELEGRAPH
In 2023, June was revealed to be the most dangerous month in road fatalities at 439, a decrease from July 2022 which had 487.
By the time, 7-9 pm was revealed to be the most dangerous period for road accidents, with 1,100 road fatalities recorded during this window.
7-8 pm was identified as the most deadly hour with 410 fatalities recorded while the 8-9 pm interval followed suit with 359 Kenyans having perished during this window in 2023.
6-7 pm was ranked the third most deadly hour with 331 fatalities followed by the 9-10 pm hour during which 270 Kenyans lost their lives to road accidents.
However, the 1-3 am period was deemed the safest period to travel on Kenyan roads, with the 1-2 am interval listed as the least deadly, recording 94 deaths.
101 fatalities were recorded between the 2-3 am window while 107 fatalities were reported to have occurred between 3 am and 4 am.
The report went on to list Nairobi, Kiambu, Nakuru, Machakos and Murang'a as the counties which recorded the most fatalities in 2023 with 450 people having died on roads within the devolved units in 2023.
Lamu, Isiolo, Tana River, Mandera and Wajir recorded the least amount of fatalities, with Wajir recording only 10 in 2023.
