Kenya: More Effort Needed to Reduce Road Crashes in Mombasa
By Gift Briton
The Mombasa County Government and Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS) has unveiled the 2023 Mombasa Road Safety Report.
The report, based on police crash data, provides a detailed analysis of the trends, high-risk areas, and key factors contributing to traffic-related injuries and deaths and offers insights into police enforcement, behaviour change communication, and engineering interventions to reduce road traffic deaths and injuries in the coastal region.
The number of people who died from road traffic crashes increased from 69 in 2022 to 94 in 2023, with pedestrians accounting for more than half of the total fatalities, the report highlights. Vulnerable road users including pedestrians, motorcyclists, and cyclists formed 92% of the total fatalities. Serious injuries also increased by 27 people from 161 in 2022.
The data also reveals that most traffic fatalities occur between 4 a.m. and 8 a.m. and from 6 p.m. to midnight, with Hass Filling Station along Mombasa Road, Postal Corporation along Likoni-Ukunda Road, Loreto Convent Primary School along Nyerere Avenue, Palm City along Malindi Road, and AIPCA, Makande Cathedral along Mombasa Road, along with dangerous corridors such as Mombasa–Nairobi Road, Mombasa–Malindi Road, Port Reitz–Airport Road, Likoni–Ukunda Road, and Makupa Causeway identified as high-risk areas requiring urgent safety interventions.
At the report launch, Mombasa Governor Abdullswamad Nassir emphasized his administration’s dedication to addressing road safety challenges.
“We are deeply committed to safeguarding the lives of all road users by prioritizing data-driven policies and interventions,” the Governor stated.
He acknowledged the support by BIGRS and other partners in advancing road safety measures and the partnership’s focus on communication, advocacy, policy development, and data surveillance.
The Governor noted that the collaboration had strengthened the Department of Transport and Infrastructure, enabling initiatives such as enhanced data collection, improved surveillance, and capacity training for enforcement officers.
The Kenya Police Coast Region and Mombasa Inspectorate, for instance, received specialized training and radar speed guns through the Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP), bolstering enforcement efforts across the county.
Rebecca Bavinger of Bloomberg Philanthropies commended Mombasa’s proactive approach to road safety while stressing the importance of continued efforts. “We commend the county’s proactive measures to save lives from road crashes, but more needs to be done to reduce deaths and injuries,” she remarked.
Mombasa Transport Minister Daniel Manyala highlighted the devastating impact of road crashes on communities, emphasizing the need for urgent action. “This report underscores the critical need for strengthened enforcement, public awareness campaigns, and targeted engineering interventions to address the most dangerous corridors and intersections. Together, we can reverse these alarming trends,” he said.
“Understanding who is dying on roads, and where and why crashes are happening is key to developing interventions to save lives,” said Dr. Raphael Awuah, Regional Technical Advisor for Vital Strategies, urging leaders to act swiftly to protect vulnerable road users, particularly pedestrians.