Nairobi, March 1 (Phinisinews/Xinhua-OANA) - Kenya's traffic police said Thursday that some 621 people have lost their lives in road accidents in various parts of the East African nation since January compared to 480 in the similar period last year.

Traffic police commander, Samuel Kimaru said most of the accidents were caused by careless driving and pedestrians crossing road junctions.

"Some 621 people have been killed in road accidents across the country since the beginning of the passenger. Among those killed, 245 were pedestrians, 233 passengers, 63 drivers, 51 motorcyclists and 29 pedal cyclists," Kimaru told Xinhua by telephone.

He said some 1,064 people were seriously injured in the past two months.

"Most of these accidents were caused by careless driving and pedestrians who are crossing roads without taking caution. Most of the accidents occur at night and I have ordered all police traffic police to swing into action by checking all vehicles," Kimaru said.

Kimaru called on the drivers to take safety measures especially when travelling at night. He also called on Kenyans to avoid travelling at night terming it a risky venture because of poor visibility.

"I also wish to call for caution amongst the road users. We have noticed that most drivers overspeed at night but we will do our best to bring the death toll down by creating awareness and checking these vehicles which overspeed at night," he added.

Kimaru said they will implement the laws without failure and told those who fear them their days were numbered or keep their vehicles off the road.

According to police statistics, over 2,600 people died while thousands others have been injured in road accidents across the country since the start of 2012. The accidents are mostly caused by both public and private vehicles, motorcycles, motorbikes and pedestrians.

Half 2,525 people killed in road accidents in 2012 were pedestrians followed by passengers, motorcyclists, drivers, cyclists and their passengers.

The statistics revealed that more than three quarters of those killed through road accidents are males and about half are children.