NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 21 – Kenya has backed a United Nations roadmap to reduce global road deaths while pledging tougher domestic traffic enforcement as pedestrians and motorcyclists continue to account for the majority of road fatalities in the country.National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) Director-General Eng. Nashon Kondiwa made the commitment on Monday during the 2026 High-Level Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on Improving Global Road Safety at the UN Headquarters in New York.Held under the theme, “Scaling up and accelerating implementation of commitments to halving road traffic deaths and injuries by 2030,” the meeting adopted the Progress Declaration, which Kenya welcomed as a key milestone in advancing the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021–2030.Kondiwa said Kenya’s National Road Safety Action Plan is aligned with the global framework and reaffirmed the country’s commitment to implementing the declaration.Addressing the meeting, Kondiwa said Kenya continues to record between 4,000 and 5,000 road deaths and more than 20,000 injuries annually, describing road safety as one of the country’s foremost public health and development challenges.“Road crashes are not only a transport issue, but an economic and social development issue,” Kondiwa said.He said road traffic crashes cost Kenya an estimated five per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) annually through lost productivity, healthcare costs, emergency response, property damage and long-term disability.The pledge coincides with intensified enforcement at home, with NTSA, the National Police Service (NPS) and Nairobi City County stepping up action against unsafe pedestrian behaviour.On Tuesday, 22 pedestrians were arraigned after they were arrested for crossing Nairobi’s Thika Superhighway at Allsops instead of using a designated footbridge.NTSA said the operation forms part of an ongoing nationwide campaign to improve pedestrian compliance with traffic laws through enforcement and public education.The accused face charges of crossing a road at an undesignated point and willfully obstructing the free flow of traffic under Section 90(2)(c) of the Traffic Act (Cap. 403).According to the Authority, pedestrians accounted for 836 of the 2,150 road deaths recorded in the first half of 2026, representing 38 per cent of all fatalities and making them the single largest category of road users killed on Kenyan roads.Kondiwa said Kenya has adopted a Safe System Approach anchored on engineering, enforcement and education to address the road safety challenge.Under the engineering pillar, he said the government is investing in safer road infrastructure, including non-motorised transport facilities, road safety audits, safer school zones and the adoption of internationally recognised road safety assessment standards.On enforcement, Kondiwa said Kenya is strengthening evidence-based policing through technology-enabled traffic management, enhanced driver and vehicle regulation, improved compliance monitoring, and the modernisation of driver licensing, vehicle inspection and digital enforcement systems.Public awareness, he added, remains central to Kenya’s strategy, with nationwide campaigns targeting schools, public transport operators, employers, communities and vulnerable road users, alongside efforts to integrate road safety education into learning institutions.“Kenya remains fully committed to delivering safer roads through stronger partnerships, smarter technologies, safer infrastructure, effective enforcement and sustained public education,” Kondiwa said.He called for continued international collaboration to accelerate progress towards the global target of halving road traffic deaths and injuries by 2030.“Together, through shared commitment and global cooperation, we can save lives, protect livelihoods and build safer, more sustainable transport systems for present and future generations,” he said.