The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has raised the alarm over a report indicating that road accidents have led to a loss of at least 155 people in the last 10 days, translating to a daily death toll of 15 people.
The authority's statistics as of December 13 revealed that fatalities have increased compared to the same time last year where 107 people died in road accidents over the same period in 2019.
This increase in fatalities is despite the reduced travel and more people working from home due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Statistics documented by the police and the NTSA indicates that road accidents between January and December this year stood at 3,663 compared to 3,508, during the same time last year.
The data indicates an annual increase of 9.4% in deaths compared to the last year. Between January and December 13, 2020, 3,663 people died on the road compared to 3,348 last year, which is a difference in 215 fatalities.
Fewer deaths of pedestrians and passengers were recorded compared to 2019, according to the NTSA.
A 22.7% decline was witnessed on the side of passengers with statistics recording 512 deaths compared to last year’s 668.
The report also indicates that 1,393 pedestrians were in the past 11 months seriously injured compared to 1,193, who were seriously injured in 2019, a 16.7% increment.
An increase in fatalities among pillion passengers, pedal cyclists and motorcyclists was recorded during the same period compared to the previous year.
291 pedestrians were slightly injured in 2020, while 267 got slightly injured in 2019 and 761 drivers were seriously injured compared to 416 while 539 were slightly injured in 2020 and 437 in 2019.
