If you’re thinking about doing some travelling around Africa, note this: Nairobi is the place where you are most likely to die in a traffic accident. A report by the World Resources Institute (WRI), which was conducted for the purpose of having cities adopt strategies to reduce traffic-related incidents, shows the Kenyan capital to have the most dangerous drivers on the continent. Second place goes to Johannesburg.
On a numerical scale, drivers from Nairobi are responsible for 18.5 deaths per 100 000, while Johannesburg drivers account for 15 – both quite a bit lower than Fortaleza in Brazil’s 27.2 (the city with the highest traffic deaths).
According to a Business Tech report, the fatality risk for pedestrians with cars travelling at 50 km/h is double than the risk at 40 km/h, and five times greater than at 30 km/h. Among the WRI’s proposals to improve traffic safety are better management of arterial routes; encouraging the use of mass transport,; walking and bicycling in the cities; and reducing speeds.
