Road traffic injuries in Kenya: Magnitude, causes and status of intervention

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Abstract
Road traffic crashes exert a huge burden on Kenya’s economy and health care services. Current interventions are sporadic, uncoordinated and ineffective. This report offers a descriptive analysis of secondary data obtained from a variety of published literature and unpublished reports. Over three thousand people are killed annually on Kenyan roads. A fourfold increase in road fatalities has been experienced over the last 30 years. More than 75% of road traffic casualties are economically productive young adults. Pedestrians and passengers are the most vulnerable; they account for 80% of the deaths. Buses and matatus * Matatus are small-scale public transport vehicles in Kenya. These vehicles are important in public transport but they flagrantly violate traffic rules. are the vehicles most frequently involved in fatal crashes. Characteristics of crashes vary considerably between urban and rural settings: pedestrians are more likely to be killed in urban areas, whereas passengers are the majority killed on i...