Kenya to boost road safety with tough traffic enforcement

Road safety in Kenya looks set to improve following the introduction of tough new traffic laws. The much tougher penalties now in effect include the maximum sentence of a life term for causing death instead of the previous 10 years. Meanwhile driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs will result in fines of up to US$5,750 or a prison term of up to 10 years, or both. The fine for driving under the influence was previously just $172. The fines for speeding or driving on the pavement have been incr
December 3, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
Road safety in Kenya looks set to improve following the introduction of tough new traffic laws. The much tougher penalties now in effect include the maximum sentence of a life term for causing death instead of the previous 10 years. Meanwhile driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs will result in fines of up to US$5,750 or a prison term of up to 10 years, or both. The fine for driving under the influence was previously just $172. The fines for speeding or driving on the pavement have been increased to $350 from the previous $35.

However Kenya’s public transport drivers were less than impressed and responded with a 48 hour strike. Public opinion is also said to be divided over whether these tough laws will be beneficial. There is some concern that the much higher fines and sentences will lead to greater bribery of police officers as offending drivers attempt to avoid charges. The new laws will likely result in more people being jailed as the fines are high compared with local salaries for most people. But there is also hope that the new laws will reduce the country’s fatal accident rate, which currently sees at least 3,000 reported fatal accidents/year and with around 50% of those being pedestrians.

Related Content

  • India plans major infrastucture investment
    April 5, 2012
    India says it turned its Commonwealth Games into a world-class success, and now it aims to do the same with its infrastructure. Patrick Smith reports On October, 2010 India put itself on the world stage, and disaster appeared to loom as a catalogue of problems dogged its biggest ever sporting event. Costing nearly US$2 billion to stage, the most expensive Commonwealth Games ever were, according to some, in doubt. After years of planning some projects were incomplete, there were health scares and a br
    Read More
  • Pedestrians will always die if struck by vehicle at 70km/h, says report
    May 3, 2013
    A report on road accident victims compiled by the Spanish breakdown recovery service Real Automovil Club de Espana (RACE) and tyres manufacturer Goodyear claims that pedestrians will always die if run over by a vehicle speeding at 70km/h. The report states that at 40km/h, the risk of pedestrian death after being run over is of 22%; with the death rate rising to 71% at 50km/h, and 95% at 60km/h. Most accidents of this kind, says RACE, occur at junctions and at the side of the road when drivers of broken down
    Read More
  • The DURABROADS project targets safer mobility
    April 2, 2014
    The innovative DURABROADS project will help deliver a sustained reduction of fatalities in the long term, writes the ERF’s José Diez In 2012, Europe recorded the lowest number of fatalities since the first data were collected. All in all, fatalities were down by 9% in 2012, which means that 3,000 lives were saved that year. Should the current pace continue, we can be confident that the ambitious objective of reducing fatalities by 50% by 2020, compared to 2010, will be reached. To achieve the goals of
    Read More
  • Bangladesh faces high risk of road crashes
    June 2, 2017
    The road casualty rate in Bangladesh needs to be drastically reduced according to the country’s government.
    Read More

Highlighted Content