Road traffic injuries persistently remain a grave challenge and are among the ten leading causes of death globally, resulting to more than 1.35M deaths annually with over 20-50M people left injured or disabled; majority of whom are from economically active age group. Moreover, the burden of road accidents is disproportionately high in low and middle-income countries, with an estimated economic loss being as high as 3% to 5% of affected country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In Kenya, statistics from the Department of Civil Registration show that about 6,500 persons die every year as a result of road traffic injuries, costing the country over Kshs. 300 Billion (about 5% of GDP). This loss is devastating and necessitates action!
The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), established by an Act of Parliament in 2012, as the lead agency in road safety issues in Kenya has employed a multi-sectoral approach in its endeavor to reverse road injury trend. NTSA has therefore developed the 2nd edition of Road Safety Guidelines for Government Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDA’s) in Kenya to support Road Safety Mainstreaming in Kenya.
In this regard, the University has developed mechanisms to monitor compliance and report non-compliance to road safety guidelines through rsmainstreaming@karu.ac.ke All staff and students are therefore encouraged to report all observations that would help improve road safety in our community. This include reporting black spots, belting up, observing speed limits, lane discipline, reckless driving, crashes.