Over 80 percent of accidents on Kenyan roads are due to human error Kenya Roads Board Executive Director Dr Francis Nyangaga has said

He said drunken driving, recklessness, speeding, flouting traffic laws and fatigue account for majority of these accidents.

The state of the roads infrastructure as well as faulty vehicles account for the rest of the 13,000 accidents recorded.

Speaking at a Nairobi hotel on the occasion of the third annual Association of Kenya Insurers Road Safety Awards ceremony, Nyangaga said that in countries such as Australia there are stiffer penalties where drivers lose points when they are involved in accidents.

"Licences are withdrawn when drivers' points fall below a set threshold," he said.

At the same time, AKI has called on the Government and other stakeholders to increase road safety awareness campaigns to stem the ever escalating road carnage.

AKI Chairman Mr. Nelson Kuria pointed out that the country needs to improve on coordination of road safety programmes under the recently launched National Road Safety Council.

"We request that the Council moves fast to consolidate efforts from all quarters, however small, to ensure that we have safer roads tomorrow. We also request all stakeholders to play their part towards this noble course," said Kuria.

The AKI Chairman also urged the Commissioner of Police to ensure full compliance with the Legal Notice No. 161 of 2003 also known as ‘Michuki Rules'.

He emphasized the need for public education campaigns on road safety through the electronic and print media.

He informed the audience that every Easter and Christmas Holidays, AKI conducts radio and television campaigns on road safety, sharing with all road users the do's and don'ts on the road and how careless use of our roads is causing loss of human lives, hurting our economy and in the long-run slowing our growth momentum as a nation.

Themed "Dumisha Usalama Barabarani", the award ceremony saw numerous organisations feted in various segments with certificates, trophies and shopping vouchers for their exemplary efforts in promoting road safety.

AKI presented awards to the top three; individual Matatu fleets, Matatu Sacco's, general cartage fleets, motor commercial fleets, private car fleets, bus fleet companies; the best bus driver, best minibus fleet company, corporate organisations, and non-governmental organisations.

The National Road Safety Council had the requisite capacity to help reduce the rate of accidents on Kenyan roads, Roads Minister, Hon. Franklin Bett said in a speech read on his behalf by Nyangaga.

"While I applaud their concerted efforts in reversing the trail of injuries, deaths and disabilities that occur as a result of road carnage, I behove every single road user to take utmost care and caution on the road", he said adding that every Kenyan had a personal responsibility for his or her actions on the road.

The Minister regretted that many injuries and fatalities recorded on Kenyan roads were not the result of terminal illnesses or inevitable causes, but due to preventable incidents on the roads.

"As Minister charged with the expansion and maintenance of the road network in Kenya, I dread listening and watching the catalogue of death and injury every evening," Bett noted as he led the participants in observing a minute of silence in honour of those killed by road accidents since the beginning of the year.

"Let me reiterate that road safety cannot be taken for granted. The importance of road safety needs to be reinforced and repeated, in a targeted and purposeful manner. Hence every road-users' action, on a daily basis, is integral to the Government achieving its mission of keeping our roads safer," he said.

So far, AKI has invested over Kshs 25 million in such initiatives.

Mr. Kuria said it was up to all stakeholders to embrace road safety.

He emphasized that most accidents on Kenyan roads could be averted by a simple change of behaviour by all road users, be they pedestrians, cyclists, skaters or motorists.

"Pedestrians must know when it is safe to cross the roads while drivers must also be courteous to other road users. This is why AKI has encompassed this important activity in our annual calendar of events aimed at recognising individuals and organisations for their contribution towards the reduction of road accidents," he noted.

Present at the event were representatives of like-minded institutions from the private sector, governmental agencies such as; the Motor Vehicles Inspection Unit, Transport Licensing Board (TLB), Public Service Vehicle Operators, insurance companies and insurance brokerage firms. Others included representatives of health and emergency rescue service providers.

The country has about one million vehicles on the roads.