Presentation made to the Kenya Transport Researchers Network Forum on how we can have a different approach towards Road Safety by putting human beings at the centre of our designs and campaigns other than vehicles and roads.

1. A People Driven Approach
to Road Safety
Kenya Transport Researchers Network Forum
Constant Cap

2. Where is this?

3. Road Safety
Statistics
According to WHO 1.24 million roads traffic
deaths occur each year.
Half of these deaths are among those people
who have the least protection: Pedestrians,
Cyclists, Motorcyclists.
These vary by region
Low and middle income countries –
24.1 and 18.1 deaths per 100,000
population
Africa has the highest level of
pedestrian and cyclist deaths at 43%

4. Kenya is Ranked 16th in the World in Road Traffic Accidents, the first 33
Countries are African Countries.
Source: http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/cause-of-death/road-traffic-accidents/by-country/

5. Kenya: Deaths by Road Traffic
Users
2013
Pedestrians 47%;
Vehicle occupants 34%,
2 or 3 wheel motor riders 5%,
Cyclists 14%
2017
Pedestrians 39%
Vehicle Occupants 34%
Motorcyclists 18%
Pillion passengers (bodaboda) 7%
Cyclists 2%
(Source: NTSA)

6. Latest Information from NTSA
– This Ought to be a National
Crisis!
‘Pedestrians remain the vulnerable group of
road users with 581 of them having lost their
lives as up to July 3, 2018.
This makes the total number of people who
have died on the roads as a result of crashes to
be 1,521 compared to 1,471 who died by the
same date last year.’
NTSA, Kenya

7. Facts About Kenya
• Kenya has a National Road Safety Strategy.
• Conducts audits prior to road projects.
• Inspects infrastructure regularly.
• Policies on walkability and bikeability are not clear e.g.
Nairobi NMT Policy
• There has been a recent drive towards improved public
transport
• There are several bodies that handle transport matters –
NTSA, NAMATA, KURA, KENHA, KRB, County
Governments

8. Facts About Kenya -Some laws
relating to Safety
• Helmets (score of 4/10 in enforcement),
• Speed limits (6/10 in enforcement),
• Safety belts (6/10 in enforcement),
• Laws on mobile use while driving,
• National Breath testing (score of 5/10 in
enforcement),
• No restrictions on children sitting on the front
seat,

9. Facts About Kenya -Some laws
relating to Safety

10. Fundamental Aspects
Streets are the fundamental operating units of cities.
Everybody in the city visits a street/road at least once a day
(unless they stay indoors).
Therefore, a key focus on how we develop our cities, ought to
be on how we develop our streets.
We have spent the better part of the last century developing
our streets for faster vehicular mobility with the assumption
that this is the most important aspect.

11. Fundamental Aspects
’We need safer streets, not just better defenses
against streets designed for cars. As pedestrian
deaths spike 46% since 2009, let's ditch the
proposals for brighter headlights and more
crosswalk buttons and instead build streets that
save lives.’
- Jeanette Sadik Khan

13. How do we make Safer Streets?
• Do we have excess space on our streets that
can be given back to people, and taken away
from cars?
• How can we shorten pedestrian distances?
• What is our safety designs strategy within
estates and courts? Is it limited to speed
bumps?
• What about extended curbs? (help drivers
slow down and shorted pedestrian walking
distances).

14. Example of a safer street through
intersection design

15. How do we make Safer Streets?
• Where are the ‘Black Spots’ in our urban areas?
• Do all our social amenities have safe access for pedestrians
e.g. KNH, Nyayo Stadium, City Stadium, Muthurwa Market,
Uhuru Park?
• Are the entrances to primary schools right along main roads?
• How do we control speed within neighbourhoods, estates and
courts?
• Have we designed pedestrian crossings such that they make
sense for pedestrians –bridges, zebra crossings
• Have we done enough publicity - good efforts during
December by police/NTSA - showing accident vehicles at
junctions
• Structure of our PSV system (target based)

16. How do we make Safer Streets?
Case Studies to think about
• Thika SuperHigway
• Outer Ring Road
• Ngong Road
• Ring Road – Kilelelshwa and Kilimani
• Mombasa Road

17. Tactical Urbanism and Creative
Methods?
Short Term Action for Long Term
Change
1. Use of Paint
2. Use of Cones
3. Use of Barriers
4. Closure of Streets
5. Re-design of Streets
6. People Centric and Oriented

18. Tactical Urbanism and Creative
Methods?

19. Tactical Urbanism and Creative
Methods?

20. Case Study: New York – Jeanette
Sadik Khan
• Built more than 400 miles of new bike
lanes
• Created a massive pedestrian plaza in
Times Square by closing five blocks of
Broadway to cars,
• Built 59 other pedestrian plazas
throughout the five boroughs,
• Launched a rapid bus system and much
more.
• Changing the mindset that streets are to
be designed first for cars, then for people
(@JSadikKhan)

21. Case Study: New York – Jeanette
Sadik Khan
• Making changes and Measuring the outcome and
presenting facts
• Bringing about a culture change
• Adopted the tactical urbanists approach - where you
try something, see if it works and if it does - stick to it.
‘I think I’m proudest of the fact that when we left office,
we had the lowest traffic fatalities in 100 years.’

22. Example of a safer street through
intersection design

23. Case Study: Sweden – Vision
Zero
• It is not acceptable for fatal or serious injuries to
occur on the road system, and that account must
be taken of human tolerances when designing road
infrastructure
• These include roundabouts, barrier systems,
pedestrian crossings, pedestrian footpaths, traffic
calming, signalized intersections, shoulder sealing,
and off-road cycle/motorcycle paths.
• Human behaviour has to be taken into account
when designing the traffic system.
• Barriers in built up areas, changing pedestrian
zones,
• ‘In every situation a person might fail, the road
system must not’

24. Case Study: Sweden – Vision Zero

25. Case Study: Sweden – Vision Zero

26. Safe By Design or Unsafe by
design – Ngong Road (City
Mortuary area)

27. Conclusion
The question is not ‘what could the driver have
done, or what could the pedestrian have done - it
is, what could we as professionals have done?’