[kictanet] Kenya' Road Safety Status

Fri May 18 11:28:41 EAT 2012

Francis,

Good points. We should avoid "ICTs looking for the problem", but first define the problem through an evidence-base and strategically see where smart transport solutions would add value and address the problems - part of the framework Mureithi alluded to.

Edith
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From: kictanet [mailto:kictanet-bounces+eadera=idrc.or.ke at lists.kictanet.or.ke] On Behalf Of Francis Hook
Sent: Friday, May 18, 2012 8:42 AM
To: Edith Adera
Cc: Nashon Adero; James Gachanja; KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions
Subject: Re: [kictanet] Kenya' Road Safety Status

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<mailto: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<mailto: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<mailto: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<tel:%2B254-20-2719951>
E-mail:            jairah at kippra.or.ke<mailto:jairah at kippra.or.ke>
URL:              www.kippra.org<http://www.kippra.org/>

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