Kenya Traffic Police in 2030

After 15 years of waiting, on a pleasant Nairobi morning in the year 2030, the country wake up  to the news of Kenya’s triumph at the All African Road Safety Award. Yes, Kenya had won not one but three awards at the fete. This was important to the country as everyone was eager to witness the culmination of a journey that had spanned more than a decade. The work out of a road map that was inspired by the most tragic road accident of all times. A path that saw a nation take a critical look at our killer roads, teeming with corrupt traffic police and an indifferent citizenry.

It was given that when the carnage on our roads became unbearable to the nations psyche, radical and surgical measure would emerge even from the most passive of societies. As we cleaned the road off another tragic accident, before we could wash our hands of the blood of yet more helpless victims, hard hitting questions, and passionate reflections would not let the blood come off our hands. Yes, we as a nation were guilty of murderous negligence, our complicity being in our repeated mediocre response and half measures in securing human life on our roads.

For instance when a 14 seater matatu crashed killing all on boards on a known black spot. The only tangible response would be erecting a black spot sign board on the side of the road. When a school bus full of primary school children plunged into a river killing half on board, the best we could do was to indict the traffic policeman manning the last road block that allowed the visibly overcrowded bus to ride by unquestioned. Forgetting that the bus passed at least 4 roadblocks before their fateful crash. In the age of technological advancement the whole country could only boast of two speed cameras, donated by a non-governmental organization and not even provided by the government. From non tamper proof speed governors to banning of night travel made up the top creme of the vague attempts by the government to stop the genocide on our roads.

With such a dark past, there were still patches of triumph on our road safety bloody history. Where exemplary leadership and unwavering pursuit of results by a transport minister had breathed hope on our roads. Though the change introduced by this minister were short lived, they served to show that with a unity of purpose and concerted efforts, change could be engineered. So when 15 years ago an individual stepped up and swore to vanquish the monster that had become our roads. He was met with a mix of hope and despair. Hope in the fact that we all believed we could secure our roads as it had been done before. And of course despair that this script mistaken for knee jack reaction had been played before. However when he laid out his action plan, even the loudest of critics was silenced at the very least the sheer ambition of the road safety plan.

Though capital intensive, the fact that it largely depended on technological innovation as opposed to human efficacy made the plan palatable especially to a youthful nation. Massive public support was quick to burst into the streets and board rooms and oiled the wheels of change. The introduction of digital speed governors whose data could be accessed by traffic police was just the beginning. For digital speed governors on their own could not be successful without the moral transformation of the man power of the traffic police. This moral change had not only be shepherded but guarded by additional technological applications as explained by our road safety hero. Otherwise we would only add a new revenue (read bribe) stream to our rogue traffic cops.

For a long time the country craved for some new solutions, some new creative way to tackle a problem that had engrained itself to our road culture. We had exhausted all quick fix attempts that we could think of. We now needed to look further than our noses for relevant solutions. Some say that sometimes the best way to tackle the most complex of problems is through the simplest of solutions.  Of course whenever some new idea has been absorbed by the masses, the solution seems so obvious in its simplicity that its hard to appreciate Its ingenuity, especially when we forget just how long we had struggled with that particular problem.

Its common knowledge that the largest percentage of the road carnage we experience on our roads happen on well known black spots. So it was truly refreshing for the public when we introduced traffic cameras on all known black spots. In addition the public was educated that over speeding, overloading and any other conduct on the black spot that was deemed reckless, would attract at the very least the revocation of driving licenses not to mention hefty fines and even jail terms. To assist in this crack down on our black spots was rapid response to violations to apprehend violators in the shortest time possible. So any violation is digitally disseminated to all traffic police in that locality and a search is called for that particular vehicle. Information on this violation is put into record and can be accessed through the vehicle terminal by any traffic police hand held device in future.

Nonetheless even with such techniques, it was considered necessary to aid in the morality of our traffic police. So more measure were put into place to not only to instill transparency and accountability, deter corruption and weed out rogue elements in this cess pool of bribery and its temptations. But also to identify and reward commendable performance and actions beyond the call of duty performed by our officers. So the introduction of video monitoring of all police traffic stops on our city roads and highways was a significant step in monitoring or shepherding so to speak of our traffic police. All police road blocks had to be under video surveillance and the police to stand at a visible position to the cameras during all stopping of any vehicle. Furthermore for every stop the police had to engage the cars terminal with their cards to read their speed data, driver/owners information, last servicing, history of their traffic  violation, any outstanding warnings, tickets or outstanding arrest warrants.

Innovative mobile apps allowed the public to be involved in the road safety campaign. Mobile apps made it easier for the public to report on corrupt traffic police, speed up emergency response in case of an accident, document gaps in the efficiency of the traffic police, identify threats through data collected from the public, document and grade responses by the traffic police to a particular threat etc. Apps for both traffic departments and individual traffic cops were also created to increase efficiency and document their work for future reviews or investigations. Information data collected by these and other devices were admissible in a court of law and allowed for quick prosecution of offenders.  

So it was, that the awards meant more to the country than mere accolades. It was a triumphant moment in the back drop of just how much we had been able to tackle. It was a moment to exhale, recognize our tenacity and appreciate our innovative streak. A time to reflectively wash away the blood that would only come off when we finally realized that traffic accident victims are actual lives destroyed. That ideas are just ideas unless implemented and good intentions would not stop us from being next to die on our roads and being reduced to a single digit in a forest of statistical numbers.