There is currently very limited data describing road safety in Nairobi. Most of the reports available are based on traffic police reports for the whole country, and not disaggregated by urban and rural environments. The extent and determinants of road traffic injuries in the city are therefore poorly documented. There is need for a better understanding of interactions between the urban environment and road safety. The dearth of accurate data on road crashes and injuries also calls for establishment of better citywide data collection/ injury surveillance systems which can generate valuable information for planning, designing and operation of appropriate urban transport systems.
A number of emerging urban transport systems in Africa such as rapid bus transport, intelligent transport systems, non-motorised transport, paratransit public transport, scholar transport, among others, tend to concentrate on the provision of transport infrastructure or mobility without paying much attention to safety aspects. There is little information on how road user safety is guaranteed in the various systems. This study intends to analyse and document the evolution, types of the existing public transport systems in Nairobi and their contribution to road safety, or lack thereof.
The aim of this project is to critically investigate the magnitude and characteristics of road traffic crashes in the city of Nairobi and to evaluate the existing road safety policies and their implementation strategies, paying particular attention to public transport and non-motorised transport systems. The project is descriptive in nature, and will involve the collection and analysis of both primary and secondary data from relevant sources.
Project leader: Prof Wilson Odero
School of Public Health, Maseno University
