The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has attributed the rise in road carnage to "bad behavior" by drivers.
During an interview with Spice FM on Friday morning, NTSA Road Safety and Safety Strategies Manager Samuel Musumba said they have observed a trend where drivers involved in accidents are repeating similar moves.
"I would say 90 per cent of the incidents reported, case by case you realise that this guy has just done a similar move like the other one," Musumba said.
He emphasised on the need to learn from the accidents that have occurred so far, to avoid tragedies and save lives.
Musumba pointed out that when an accident occurs, the NTSA with the help of the police carries out investigations to pinpoint the cause.
Investigations include factors like the state of the road, signage, the mechanical condition of the vehicle - roadworthiness and the state of drivers - speed and overtaking.
"These three give us an understanding of what happened before we condemn. We do not rush to condemn drivers on bad behaviour," he said.
At the same time, however, Musumba stated that there are other underlying issues which are to be blamed for road accidents.
Noting that not all drivers have 'bad road behaviours' and that most of them are experienced in their careers, he said mental health issues have been on the rise and could be leading to accidents.
"People are going through a lot of things. Mental health issues are now coming in as well. Stress-related issues are coming in. When you do something and then you cannot explain it, that means that your mind was not here,'' he said.
The Safety Strategies Manager urged drivers to be honest enough to report when they are going through problems that could distract them while on the road.
This includes financial constraints.
"Then we will look at what remedy we should give you," he assured, stating that male drivers need to learn to communicate on the same.
On Monday, NTSA released data showing that about 1,214 lives were lost in road accidents in the last three months.
NTSA Deputy Director, Safety, Audit and Inspection Eng Christine Ogut said the statistics were conducted between January and April.
Pedestrians account for the largest number of fatalities, followed by motorbikes, passengers, and drivers.
In 2023, close to 3,609 people lost their lives in road accidents while in 2022 at least 4,690 people died on Kenyan roads.
