Speeding and drunk driving blamed for 2024 road deaths surge
The findings paint a grim picture of road safety in the country.
Kenya witnessed a worrying rise in road crashes fatalities in 2024, with new data showing a total of 4,748 lives lost, an increase from the 4,513 deaths reported the year before.
This 5.2% rise in deaths was captured in the ‘Economic Survey 2025’ released by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), with figures drawn from the Kenya Police Service’s Traffic Department.
The report further shows that the number of people injured in road crashes rose sharply by 11.8 percent, from 10,677 in 2023 to 11,937 in 2024.
Those who suffered slight injuries also increased during the year, jumping from 183 in 2023 to 7,560 in 2024.
The report identifies several leading causes of crashes, including speeding, overloading, reckless overtaking, failure to maintain lane discipline, and driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
Other major contributors were the general disregard for traffic laws by road users and aggressive behavior behind the wheel.
Overall, road crashes climbed by 11.8% to reach 11,173 in 2024, compared to 9,990 incidents reported in 2023.
This increase also pushed up the total number of deaths and injuries from road crashes by 5.7%, from 22,933 in 2023 to 24,245 in 2024.
Among the types of casualties, the number of pedal cyclists who were injured or killed rose sharply by 22.7% from 185 in 2023 to 227 in 2024.
The number of pedestrian casualties also climbed, reaching 4,315 in 2024 from 3,913 the previous year — a 10.3% rise.
The report also notes an increase in pillion passenger casualties, which stood at 2,981 in 2024, up from 2,621 in 2023, marking a 13.7% rise.
Prepared annually by KNBS, the Economic Survey provides social and economic data covering five years.
It offers insights into various sectors of the economy based on the Kenya Standard Industrial Classification of all Economic Activities (KESIC) and includes details on current national issues.
The KNBS says, "Statistics presented in survey reports are produced in line with internationally sound and scientific methods that are anchored on the fundamental principles of producing official statistics."
The report adds that, "Data quality is expressed in terms of dimensions in line with international best practices and recommendations."
The findings paint a grim picture of road safety in the country and highlight the need for stricter enforcement of traffic rules and better road user behavior.