Another goup of Nairobi residents landed on the wrong side of the law on Monday after police arrested them for crossing busy roads outside designated areas and bypassing footbridges.
The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), working with law enforcement officers, set up enforcement at Transami in Nairobi’s Pipeline area. They said the arrests targeted pedestrians who obstruct traffic and put other road users at risk.
“Joint pedestrian enforcement currently underway at Pipeline Transami footbridge targeting pedestrians who fail to use the footbridge and obstructing free flow of traffic. The offenders are expected to be arraigned in court this morning,” NTSA said.
The pedestrians were escorted into waiting police vans as NTSA steps up enforcement to curb dangerous crossings on major roads in Nairobi.
The authority said it will continue making arrests until every pedestrian follows the traffic rules and regulations.
“The Authority urges pedestrians to use designated footbridges /crossings at all times as crossing in undesignated areas not only endangers their lives but puts also other road users at risk and disrupts traffic,” NTSA further said.
The Transami arrests follow a wider crackdown on major roads in Nairobi, where many pedestrians keep ignoring designated footbridges and crossings and instead run across traffic.
NTSA and traffic police previously detained pedestrians on Mombasa Road at the GM footbridge, while Alsops carried out arrests on Thika Road.
Officials have raised concerns that pedestrians use shortcuts across busy highways, even though those choices endanger both themselves and other road users.
NTSA Assistant Director Brenda Sawe said the agency had arrested at least 250 pedestrians in Nairobi since the crackdown began for failing to use designated footbridges.
“Today we’ve arrested a total of 40 pedestrians who failed to use the footbridge, and this exercise is going to continue. We started it around the 20th of July; so far, up to today, we’ve arrested 250 and have been presented to court,” Sawe said.
Under the Traffic Act, pedestrians who refuse to use designated crossing facilities face fines ranging from Sh500 to Sh5,000, or prosecution for willfully obstructing the free flow of traffic. NTSA says the operations draw on road safety data showing that pedestrians account for nearly 38% of road traffic fatalities in Kenya, making them the largest category of road users killed in crashes.
NTSA argues that many of these deaths are preventable when pedestrians consistently use footbridges and designated crossing points. The authority says it will continue enforcement alongside public education campaigns designed to change pedestrian behavior and improve safety across Kenyan roads.
