During the recently concluded United Nations (UN) meeting on Global Road Safety in New York, Nairobi’s Outering Road was named one of the most unsafe roads in the world.

Claudia Adriazola-Steil, World Resources Institute (WRI) Director on Road Safety, initiated discussions on the road by highlighting the number of Kenyans who had died on the 13-kilometer stretch.

The road was specifically benchmarked for its high pedestrian casualty rate.

“There was an investment in a highway, an urban highway named Outering in Nairobi. In the first nine months of 2021, it had been the most dangerous road in the city with very many fatalities. Ninety per cent of them were pedestrians,” she stated.

She explained that many countries were investing heavily in infrastructure without considering pedestrian safety during the construction phase.

During the discussion, stakeholders proposed various ways to improve global road safety, such as the construction of pedestrian pathways and the enforcement of speed limits.

“The thing is that we are killing people and adding more motorists. What most countries should ask is whether they are making the right investments. 

“Governments should call on private companies to include road safety in their sustainability plans,” Steil added. 

Steil’s statements were in reference to data from the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), which showed that 37 people died on Outering Road between January and October 2021.

The road was named Nairobi’s deadliest, followed by Thika Superhighway and Mombasa Road.

Outering Road was inaugurated by President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2015 and is estimated to cost Ksh8.5 billion.

In 2021, 4,264 Kenyans lost their lives in accidents with an addition of 1,968 losing their lives through road carnages by June this year.

Chiromo Road was named the world’s fifth most dangerous road in 2020. According to the report, the road had a death rate of about 11.5 deaths per 16 kilometers.