Accidents on Kenyan roads: The hidden players..

Allow me to express an alternative view to the road indiscipline and carnage. Almost all articles on road accidents and lack of courtesy point to the public service vehicles as the devil; this is mainly because an accident involving a matatu will have more casualties than the private cars. Several factors contribute to accidents and matatus do not contribute 100% of this share. 

Traffic police

The Kenya Traffic Police has made its own contribution in a proportion that may not be scientifically proven easily but they nonetheless play a role. The corrupt force has changed the most basic of all traffic rules due to their insatiable greed for money and a magnetic attraction to matatus. Everyone in the world is brought up and schooled knowing that if a policeman/woman raises his hand on the road, all vehicles approaching him/he must stop. In Kenya, this is not applicable and motorists have been conditioned to look into their rear view mirror whenever a traffic cop raises his/her hand. This is done to confirm if there is a matatu behind and if so, it is assumed that it is the matatu that is being stopped. The other vehicles do not  even slow down but speed past and the cops never even make any attempts to correct this conditioned behaviour. 

Let the police force ensure that whenever their hands are raised, the interpretation is the universal one of 'STOP' and not the Kenyan one of 'matatu/old pickup/lorry STOP'. This way, we shall have the traffic police inspect any vehicles for their road worthiness and even find out if the vehicles have valid insurance and the Drivers have Driving Licences. It should not be assumed that private car drivers are only eligible for Breathalyzer tests on Friday nights and weekends. The police must be vigilant across the board with the same vigour.

Unlicensed Drivers

Every Kenyan knows at least two people on the road driving confidently without a Driver's License and none of them drives the matatus that the police are fixated on. The implication of having unlicensed drivers flooding the roads is too grave and therefore the need for s stricter reinforcement of the traffic rules. It is the private car driver who will not use the indicators to show intention, he is the one most likely to refuse to allow another car join the queue hence the reason matatus end up bullying their way into the road. Private cars have done wrong over takings on highways and made buses/matatus lose control trying to avoid them. At this point, the bus driver and 30 passengers are too dead to mention that to the public who will only see the mangled wreckage of the bus. It would be more helpful to once in a while stop as many private vehicles as possible (regardless of whether they are new,old, huge, 4X4 or pickups and conduct thorough inspection the way it is done on the public service vehicles. The influx of automatic transmission vehicles have transformed half the country population into 'drivers' due to the simplicity it has brought to driving. Driving safely and avoiding accidents involve more than just stepping on an accelerator and brakes as its is assumed by the many reckless drivers on the road.

Courts

Many drivers who have had their vehicles impounded and taken to court for various offences relating to traffic do not paint a vary glossy picture of the experience. I am not a legal expert but would pray that the reforms that CJ Willy Mutunga promised and is implementing include the handling of traffic offences. Driver are dragged to court and a charge of driving defective vehicles is read; the courts should make a point of viewing the vehicles too just like they do to confiscated chang'aa and drugs. This will eliminate the practice of pronouncing a judgement which is the long run end up unfair and oil the corrupt practices in the traffic sector. Some people have been fined tens of thousands for these charges which should have been read as specifically having no speed limit sign, faded chevrons, cracked windscreen etc. The courts could establish the exact defect on the car and met more realistic sentences and fines. This way, I will not pay a bribe of 1000 for fear of being fined 20,000 with a court that will be averse to the extent of compliance on my part.

Common sense and courtesy

Along many highways, we see many drivers leisurely driving at 40KPH and hold traffic as long as 3 kms behind them without an iota of shame of care. Another breed drives at 50KPH on the acceleration lanes of multiple lanes highways. This makes other fast moving vehicles keep snaking their way around them hence disturbing the smooth flow of traffic with the consequence of having multiple accidents. The latest breed of the Kenyan parent will also be seen driving with their only child (mainly boy child) sandwiched between the parent (mainly male parent) and the steering wheel. This babies can be a source of fatal accidents within split seconds while some who are placed in the front passenger seats have also flown out through the windscreen to their injuries. Finally, the 'multi tasking' driver who will make a phone call and talk for seven kilometers as he/she drives at 100KPH or at times slow down to 20KPH. Phone calls and driving have most likely killed more people and caused more accidents than we care to know.

I therefore wish to submit that there are more parties contributing to this madness than the matatus everyone is pointing a gun at. Let the focus shift on other players on the roads and we shall see a positive improvement. 

NB: I do not own or drive a matatu or any PSV vehicle.