Road injuries claim 1.34 million lives globally as Kenya grapples with deadly crashes

Road crashes killed 1.34 million people globally and left 50.9 million others injured in 2023, making road injuries one of the leading causes of premature death and disability worldwide.

This is according to a new study published in The Lancet Public Health, which shows that road injuries were the leading cause of death among people aged 10 to 39 and the second-leading cause of death among children aged five to nine.

The report comes as Kenya continues to record fatal road crashes. Last weekend alone, 21 people were killed in road crashes across the country within 24 hours.

Among the latest incidents was a crash in Ahero, Kisumu, in which two students from the Technical University of Mombasa (TUM) died and 29 others were injured while travelling to attend the burial of their student leader, Elvis “Beast” Otieno.

Globally, road injuries ranked as the 11th leading cause of death in 2023 and accounted for 75.3 million years lived with disability.

The study found that low- and middle-income countries continue to bear the greatest burden, with more than 90 per cent of road injury deaths occurring in these countries.

Between 1990 and 2023, global age-standardised rates of new road injury cases and deaths declined by 38.3 per cent and 32.3 per cent, respectively. However, the gains were uneven across income groups, with low-income countries recording nearly six times the rate of years of life lost to premature death compared with high-income countries.

Road injury mortality increased significantly in six countries between 2010 and 2023 — Ghana, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Armenia, Costa Rica and the United States. The increases ranged from 13.2 per cent in the US to 48.5 per cent in Ghana.

“Road injury outcomes are shaped not only by crashes, but by the systems designed to prevent them and protect people when they occur,” said Dr Liane Ong, senior research scientist at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) and senior author of the study.

“Road deaths are largely preventable, but progress requires sustained investment. Reducing them requires safer infrastructure, stronger safety policies, and better emergency care,” she added.

Young people and men at greatest risk

Young people and adult men face the greatest risks from road injuries and deaths.

Among men aged 20 to 24, road injuries accounted for more than one in every five deaths. Across nearly every age group, males recorded higher road injury incidence rates than females.

The burden also varied by road-user type, reflecting differences in exposure and vulnerability.

Motor vehicle crashes accounted for the largest share of road injuries and deaths worldwide, causing 19.8 million injuries and 518,000 deaths in 2023.

Pedestrian injuries accounted for nearly one-third of road injury deaths, while motorcyclist injuries represented 13 per cent of cases but nearly 24 per cent of deaths.

The study also found significant differences  in injury severity. Fractures were the most common non-fatal injury, accounting for more than 38 per cent of cases, while head injuries occurred in roughly one in 10 cases.

Motorcyclists recorded the highest proportion of head injuries, with most involving moderate or severe traumatic brain injuries. The study found that these more severe injuries were disproportionately concentrated in low- and middle-income countries.

Heavy economic and health burden

Beyond the physical toll on individuals and families, road injuries place significant pressure on health systems, workforces and economies.

The global economic cost of road injuries is projected to reach $1.8 trillion (about Sh232.2 trillion) between 2015 and 2030.

The study also highlights the potential impact of strengthening trauma care, with evidence suggesting that more than 200,000 lives could be saved annually through enhanced trauma care coverage in low- and middle-income countries.

The findings point to the need for a combination of safer road infrastructure, stronger road safety policies and improved emergency and trauma care to reduce deaths and disabilities caused by road crashes.