Every other day, you watch news and there’s a story on a road accident. Most of them happen to be something that could have been prevented. More than 2,800 people have lost their lives in road carnage this year. The government has come up with a solution to end this: to retest all drivers. While this move is commendable, I don’t think it should be the only solution brought forward.
Before re-testing drivers, the government should first improve the driving schools in the country. There are some driving schools that guarantee you will pass. It doesn’t matter how old you are or how skilled you are. Once you sign up for classes with them, they will make sure you get your driving license. This is part of the reason why we have so many unqualified drivers causing accidents on our roads. As long as such practices exist, re-testing all drivers is pointless. Nothing will change. I will still get my license from that driving school and be reckless on the road.
It’s not only the lack of driving skills that cause accidents. There’s also the mindset of the people behind the wheel. You can improve the skills, but that won’t change the fact that many drivers on our roads are impatient and careless. They will still drive on the wrong side to get to his destination as quickly as they can, irrespective of how many traffic rules they break. The new licenses will not stop passengers from piling into a matatu even though they can see the matatu is full.
Most of the madness comes from corruption. Traffic police turn a blind eye on all the wrongdoing, provided you give them something small for their efforts. The government needs to step in and solve this part of the problem as well. Get better police to handle our roads and things might change for the better.
I commend the move to re-test drivers, but that is just one small step that will only work if something else is done to support it. Let the government bring in more strict measures. Punish law breakers and let others learn from it. The late John Michuki changed our roads by instilling fear in drivers and passengers.I can’t help but wonder if the government needs to use this to bring sanity on our roads.