[kictanet] Kenya' Road Safety Status

Francis Hook francis.hook at gmail.com
Fri May 18 08:42:25 EAT 2012


Hi Barrack
Thanks.   I think before integrating ICT into the mix, the enforcement
itself MUST be fixed.  Otherwise cameras will only tell us the obvious -
that traffic police and motorists are both culpable.   The word "impunity"
has oft been bandied around when it comes to Kenya and Kenyans - I am not
convinced a camera will shame anyone into proper behavior or to uphold the
law. As it were various TV stations have on different occasions secretly
filmed police taking bribes, motorists flouting the law, etc (and pls bear
in mind, unlike CCTV, TV's reach is much wider and such coverage does
"sting" more than the individuals in the footage.   Has that helped?

 I think a solution should  solve a problem without creating others e.g.
who will monitor the cameras? OK say we get the funds to hire people to do
that. Then who will monitor those monitoring the cameras to ensure they too
do not get sucked into graft (i.e. delete footage, look the other way,
etc).   Let me take a few steps back. The traffic police are the ones meant
to monitor motorists and ensure the law is upheld.   Now that is not
happening.  So we want to mount CCTV cameras to monitor them....then we
need people to monitor those monitoring the cameras who are monitoring the
police who are not monitoring the motorists.   This can go all the way
upstream.

I think we'd be opening a can of worms if we add a layer of ICT on a
problem whose solution should first be proper  enforcement to bring
about behavioural change.   At some point the anti-corruption authority was
doing well to ambush bribe takers....I think that's the type of solution we
need first....an independent body to deal with graft.  Once that rot is
fixed, CCTV can be added to help the police themselves to dientify hit and
runs, monitor and direct traffic flows, etc etc and not simply be a "big
brother" type of device intended to scare police and motorists to comply.

My two bits.




regards

F

On 18 May 2012 08:19, Barrack Otieno <otieno.barrack at gmail.com> wrote:

> @ Francis,
>
> Whats your take on the design issues raised by Dr. Aligula, on another
> note and to emphasise on the your last paragraph people get away with
> offences because the officer has the power to release you depending on how
> you interface on the road, this is a deeply rooted problem can we reduce by
> intergrating Cameras and other forms of technology that would help deter
> waywardness. ICTs can help reinforce current enforcement methods.
>
> Best Regards
>
> On Fri, May 18, 2012 at 8:13 AM, Francis Hook <francis.hook at gmail.com>wrote:
>
>> Thank you.  It is gratifying to note the drop in casualties, injured, etc
>> between 2003 and 2005 - I think that is attributable to the "Michuki
>> rules".
>>
>> Curious to know what happened between 1977 and 1979 to cause a drastic
>> drop (looks like 100% y-o-y) in "serious injuries per 100 casualties"? (in
>> the "Crash survival rates chart).
>>
>> Looking at "Road risk travel patterns" - where it shows the "fatalities
>> per 100,000 vehicles" seems to show an all time low (since 1963) in 2011.
>>  I think to "read" this accurately we'd perhaps want to:
>> 1 - Compare the population growth rate vs growth rate of vehicles on the
>> road.  If the human population has grown faster, then naturally the
>> fatalities per 100k vehicles will be lower - a distortion I think.
>>  2 - Between 1963 and 2011 there have been more roads built, more towns
>> developed, etc ergo more time spent on the road, longer distances travelled
>> collectively, greater time spent on the roads, etc and perhaps higher
>> probabilities of accidents happening.  Also I would like to think the types
>> of roads themselves increase the risks of accidents by speeding - higher
>> chances of fatalities on smooth tarmac than on a lumpy murram back road.
>>
>> Just my two bits.  However, some of the listers feel ICT can help with
>> the issue of Thika Road - but your stats esp for 2003-2005 CLEARLY show
>> that slight changes to the traffic code and proper enforcement can help
>> turn this around.   So lets pass the buck to the minister of transport, the
>> traffic police etc.
>>
>>
>> On 17 May 2012 18:00, Eric Aligula <jairah at kippra.or.ke> wrote:
>>
>>> Listers****
>>>
>>> ** **
>>>
>>> As you debate the very grave road safety situation in Kenya, we would
>>> wish to share this preliminary information from a study we are conducting
>>> on the accuracy of road safety data.  Good data is critical for effective
>>> policy formulation, implementation and evaluation.  Anecdotal evidence
>>> suggests a significant level of underreporting, compounded by errors in
>>> other complimentary data sets.****
>>>
>>> ** **
>>>
>>> However, on the basis of what is available, we aver that the major
>>> problem in respect of road safety in Kenya is a human problem.  That is our
>>> weakest link. How to deal with it is key.****
>>>
>>> ** **
>>>
>>> It is very broad brush and we welcome feedback even as we look for
>>> answers from Thika Road.****
>>>
>>> ** **
>>>
>>> Kind regards****
>>>
>>> ** **
>>>
>>> Eric Aligula Magolo, PhD****
>>>
>>> *Programmes Coordinator & Ag. Head, Infrastructure and Economic
>>> Services Division*
>>>
>>> *Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA)*
>>>
>>> *P.O. Box 56445, 00200 Nairobi, Kenya
>>> Telephone:       +254-20-2719933/4
>>> Fax:                +254-20-2719951
>>> E-mail:            jairah at kippra.or.ke
>>> URL:              www.kippra.org
>>> *
>>> [image: Description:
>>> http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/315921_2204829722683_1305583717_32015056_8138703_n.jpg]
>>> **
>>>
>>> *Proudly Kenyan, Kenyan by Nature!***
>>>
>>> “In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been
>>> granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do
>>> not shrink from this responsibility……….I welcome it.”****
>>>
>>> *John F. Kennedy *
>>>
>>> “To allow other people’s assessment of you to determine your own
>>> self-assessment is a very big mistake” ****
>>>
>>> *Columbia University President Lee Bollinger*
>>>
>>> "Far better to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though
>>> checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither
>>> enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that
>>> knows not victory, nor defeat."****
>>>
>>> *Theodore Roosevelt*****
>>>
>>> *"Ex Africa semper aliquid novi"*
>>>
>>> *“Per aspera ad astra!”* ****
>>>
>>> ** **
>>>
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>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Francis Hook
>> +254 733 504561
>>
>>
>>
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>>
>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
>> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
>> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>>
>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
>> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
>> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
>> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>>
>
>
>
> --
> Barrack O. Otieno
> +254721325277
> +254-20-2498789
> Skype: barrack.otieno
> http://www.otienobarrack.me.ke/
>
>


-- 
Francis Hook
+254 733 504561
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