STORY: Kenya launches strategy to curb road accidents
SHOOTING TIME: April 17, 2024
DATELINE: April 19, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:38
LOCATION: Nairobi
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of strategy launch
2. SOUNDBITE (English): WILLIAM RUTO, Kenyan President
3. various of audience at strategy launch
4. various of hospital

STORYLINE:

Kenyan President William Ruto on Wednesday launched a five-year road safety action plan as the country seeks to curb the rising number of fatalities and injuries on its roads.

The strategy aims to reduce the annual road accidents in the east African nation by over 50 percent, Ruto said as he unveiled the National Road Safety Action Plan 2024-2028 in Nairobi, the capital.

At least 3,500 people are killed and over 20,000 critically injured on Kenyan roads every year, and most of the victims are pedestrians, according to the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA).

Ruto said all "black spots" on major highways and roads in Kenya will be fitted with cameras to monitor drivers' behavior to curb accidents.

SOUNDBITE (English): WILLIAM RUTO, Kenyan President
"I am looking forward before the end of this year that the majority of our junctions, the majority of our blind spots, the majority of the areas that bring danger to road users will be on camera."

Cabinet Secretary for Roads, Transport, and Public Works Kipchumba Murkomen said the action plan is a framework to keep roads safe, including through training of drivers.

Between January and March, at least 1,200 people have been killed on Kenyan roads, the highest toll since 2022, according to the NTSA.

A United Nations road safety meeting in 2022 ranked some of Kenya's roads as among the deadliest in the world due to high fatalities.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Nairobi.
(XHTV)