BEWARE: 15 Major Black Spots Identified Across Kenya

St John Ambulance has stationed its officers on more than 15 black spots across the country to rescue victims in case of an accident.

The NGO said about 57 per cent of accident victims die at the scene after being mishandled.

“There are over 15 rescue centres in the country, with each having an average of 28 personnel who are trained to respond to fatalities,” said Fred Majiwa, the communications manager at the organisation.

More than 3,000 people have died this year in road accidents, many of them on the spots that have been identified.

Transport ministry says there are more than 28 black-spots on main highways in Kenya.

The police blame the increase in road accidents on reckless driving.

“Unless there is a shift in the way Kenyan drivers think, these calamities will go on,” says Traffic commandant Samuel Kimaru.

The black spots on the Nairobi-Eldoret highway, Mombasa Road, Thika Superhighway, the Kericho-Kisumu stretch and Embu-Meru Road account for more than 60 per cent of all accidents occurring in the country.

The organisation already has rescue centres on some of these highways.

Majiwa cited the 2002 incident in which retired President Mwai Kibaki was injured in a road accident while on his way back to Nairobi from a campaign meeting at Machakos junction.

“The highway rescue team was the first to arrive at the scene,” he said.

St John says more than 883 lives have been saved through the support of the highway rescue centres.