Nairobi’s peculiar traffic habits

A lot of people would be happier every day if each driver resolved to treat the others like fellow humans

If there is a crime all Nairobi drivers are guilty of, it is being inconsiderate to other drivers and other road users at one point or another while maintaining a holier-than-thou attitude about the conduct of their fellow drivers.

Ask any personal car driver for the solution to Nairobi traffic. He or she will invariably respond, “Get rid of all matatus.” If you ask the same of matatu drivers they’ll say, “Get rid of these personal cars, they’re too many!”

Since none of the two types of drivers is going anywhere anytime soon, we must look at each other as necessary evils and learn to co-exist. At the end of the day it all boils down to this, that other road user is a fellow human being in the pursuit of happiness in his or her own peculiar way. Just shake your head a little and move on.

And since we are all guilty of some inconsideration on our roads, it’s expedient we shed off that holier-than-thou attitude and resolve to make life better for other road users; drivers, bikers and pedestrians alike.

If you’re a pedestrian trying to cross a road with a footbridge nearby for that purpose, a few minutes of your time taken to actually use the bridge will not cause World War III.

You will also be saving an exhausted truck driver the discomfort of having to brake to avoid hitting you and consequently other drivers behind him the danger of a multiple accident. It seems like a very small action but making the decision to use a footbridge could actually stop World War III.

Then there is that driver who is struggling to enter the highway but there is an endless stream of vehicles. The drivers behind him think he’s not aggressive enough and honk at him. He gets distracted and looks back to see who is honking at him and misses the good Samaritan who is giving him way to get into the highway.

Then he is forced to go back to square one and the cycle repeats itself. There is one clever advice everyone is given in driving school, “You are the only sane person on the road. Everyone else is a madman.” We should try to put it into practice more often instead of getting distracted in trying to find out whether he’s actually a mad man.

Then we have the bodaboda riders. If I was one I would swallow the bitter pill of acknowledging that everyone thinks I am a nuisance on the road and should not be there in the first place. I would then resolve to prove them wrong because it really does not make any damn sense to keep right when my maximum speed is 60 km/hr. There is a Subaru behind you that is choking because you’re forcing it move at a speed its engine has not been engineered for.

Hand-cart pullers are another lot. I actually don’t have a problem with them using the highway or the main road because these are honest people trying to pursue an honest living, plus there is no alternative road for them to make use of.

But among this lot are a few crazy ones; the ones who insist on pushing their contraption on the wrong side of the road against oncoming traffic. It does not happen very often but that a sure time when most Nairobi drivers feel tempted to beat somebody. That’s because it is a colossal failure of common sense.

Despite the disagreements and tempers on the road, Kenyan drivers come together in solidarity to escape the traps laid by the NTSA (National Transport and Safety Authority) by warning each other with special signs and gestures about their imminent presence.

Don’t misunderstand me, NTSA mean well. They constantly remind us to observe traffic rules especially the speed limit because we sometimes tend to be ‘accelerator happy’. My only criticism is that the 50 km/hr speed limit on some sections of the road does not make sense. That rule is irrational and far from reality and should be reviewed forthwith.

We can all extend some charity to other road users in our Nairobi traffic. Sometimes my heart melts when am desperately trying to join the main road when the only person that briefly stops to give way is a matatu driver. On some occasions I hesitate because I assume the driver is pulling my leg but when he actually signals to carry on, I feel compelled to stretch out my arm in thanksgiving at such benevolence.

Even though traffic in Nairobi can sometimes be unbearable we can all feel happier by extending random acts of kindness to other road users instead of fighting for every inch of space available. I’ve noticed that every time I’ve done that, it almost has a ripple effect.

By doing this, you sort of inject a dose of happiness in that person and they in turn extend the same to others. What if all Nairobi drivers extended courtesy to their fellow drivers, pedestrians and other road users? It would not solve all our problems but it would leave us with a sense that we are good people.