Police partner with Education ministry to sensitise learners on road safety

In its efforts to reduce road accidents across the country, the Kenya Police Service Traffic Department has now formed a new partnership with the Ministry of Education to sensitise learners across the country on the importance of road safety measures.

The initiative, which was launched on Friday in Nairobi at Dr Krapf Primary and Junior Secondary School in Makadara Constituency by Traffic Police Commandant Mary Omari, is also supported by the Automobile Association of Kenya (AA Kenya).

"The partnerships with other stakeholders will ensure that we launch road safety clubs in schools and educate learners on the importance of staying safe while on the road. We have begun with this school because it has become the pioneer school of road safety campaigns in the country," said Omari.

In the partnership, AA Kenya has introduced a programme that will train children in schools on traffic rules and regulations.

"Most of the accidents that occur on our roads can be avoided through education and attitude adjustment among our drivers and through proper design and safe construction of roads," said Omari.

Traffic Commandant Mary Omari and AAK officials when they gave books to learners at Dr Krapf Primary and Junior Secondary School in Makadara on September 13, 2024. (Photo: Kenya Police Service)

The initiative wants the Ministry of Education to entrench compulsory traffic training in schools to build capacity and create road user awareness in the country.

This is not the first time such an initiative has been mooted.

The National Transport Safety Authority (NTSA) earlier embarked on providing road safety education to primary school children in a bid to reduce road accidents involving children on Kenyan highways following an outcry over the increased number of accidents.

The initiative by the police aims to roll out the safety programme to more than 1,000 schools on the highways to promote road safety, especially among primary school children.

According to the police, road safety is a community issue which needs a strong collaboration with partners for the safety of children and other pedestrians.

In May, the Ministry of Health, NTSA, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Bloomberg Philanthropies launched a national initiative to reduce deaths and serious injuries from road crashes by strengthening laws, policies and actions that are proven to save lives.

At the end of 2021, Kenya recorded 4,579 fatalities as a result of road traffic crashes with many other victims being seriously injured.

"No deaths on our roads are ever acceptable, and road traffic crashes are a pressing public health issue that we are working hard to urgently resolve. The work with WHO and partners through the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety will be key to supporting our efforts to save lives and push forward progress," said Agnes Odhiambo, the NTSA board chairperson.