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Tuesdays record highest road fatalities in new NTSA report

Vehicles plying the Nairobi- Nakuru highway at Gilgil area on May 21,2025.

Photo credit: LELETI JASSOR/MTAA WANGU
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By  LELETI JASSOR

Correspondent

Mtaa Wangu

Most road crashes with fatalities occur on Tuesdays, a recent NTSA report has revealed.

While broken down per day of the week, the data showed that Tuesdays experienced the most alarming surge, with fatalities nearly doubling from 46 in 2023 to 90 in 2024, a 95.7 per cent increase.

Saturdays and Wednesdays also saw significant rise with a 21.4 per cent rise and 31.6 per cent respectively, while Sundays, Thursdays, and Fridays recorded declines. Mondays remained constant.

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A closer look at the NTSA data also revealed how different vehicle types contributed to road fatalities in Nakuru County over the two-year period.

Commercial vehicles were the deadliest in 2024, with 127 deaths compared to 101 in 2023, a 25.7 per cent increase as public service vehicles (PSVs) remained almost unchanged, with a marginal drop from 93 in 2023 to 92 in 2024, while private vehicle-related fatalities rose slightly by 2.8 per cent.

Notably, deaths involving motorcycles decreased from 81 in 2023 to 68 in 2024, a 16 percent drop, suggesting that recent boda boda safety campaigns may be starting to yield results.

However, bicycle-related fatalities more than doubled, rising from 2 to 5, while fatalities involving government vehicles increased slightly from 3 to 4.

Additionally, tuk-tuk-related deaths, though still relatively low, appeared for the first time in the data, with 3 reported fatalities in 2024.

In addition to location and vehicle type, the time of day proved to be a critical factor in understanding road fatalities.

Both 2023 and 2024 data showed fatality peaks during early morning hours (around 2:00 AM and 5:00 AM) and again during evening hours. The deadliest hour in 2023 was 9:00 PM (43 deaths), while in 2024 it shifted to 8:00 PM (34 deaths).

These findings highlight the urgent need for a data-driven, multi-pronged approach to road safety in Nakuru County.

Interventions must be tailored to the specific conditions with investments in better road design, improved street lighting, targeted law enforcement, and robust public awareness campaigns pumped up to reverse these worrying trends.

With greater coordination among stakeholders and a commitment to action, safer roads are within reach.