Drunk drivers contained; how about motorists on drugs?

By KENNETH KWAMA

Nairobi’s matatu crews are legendary for their reckless driving, intense competition for passengers and sometimes, dangerous lifestyles which some experts have attributed to over consumption of alcohol and drugs. 

 The nature and structure of their job means they have to stay longer at work than those in other professions. Some work continuously for up to 16 hours, but to stay behind the wheel without sleep they have to supplement their routine, usually with a dose of bhang to stay awake.

 The use of marijuana in the matatu industry is so widespread that even the route guys known on the streets as ‘squadi’ routinely use drugs   to stay alert. To camouflage the trade, suppliers are referred to as ganjapreneurs.

EFFECTS

Although the level of marijuana’s activity in the human body depends on the amount consumed, some experts believe it has more devastating effects on users than alcohol and there are concerns that the government could be focusing more on the lesser evil—alcohol consumption among drivers thus allowing ganjapreneurs free reign to continue the madness responsible for the soaring number of accidents on Kenyan roads.

 Last month, Transport Principal Secretary Nduva Muli announced that police had collected more than Sh2 million from drunk drivers the week before Christmas. This was courtesy of the Alcoblow gadget, which seems to have put a damper on alcohol consumers, but not other harmful drug users on the roads.

 “The good thing about marijuana is that it makes you happy. It also puts a stop to all your social inhibitions. That is why we are not afraid to ask very beautiful women for fare and their cellphone numbers at the same time,” says a bus conductor on Buru Buru’s route 58 in Nairobi.

AVAILABLE

One conductor told The Standard that marijuana is readily available around Mutindwa market and pointed the writer to a cobbler he said serves the konkodi (slang for conductors) who ply the route. The claims were verified by two of his colleagues who demanded Sh200 in order to show the writer the supplier’s location—barely 200 metres from the spot where a train rammed onto a matatu killing ten passengers.

 Similar enquiries indicated there could be widespread usage of marijuana by konkodis plying several other routes, including Kawangware, Eastleigh and Maringo, but the chairman of the Matatu Owners Association (MOA), Simon Kimutai, says usage of bhang is not as widespread among matatu crews.

CONTENTIONS

“There are contentions that operators use bhang to keep up with long working hours but this is not true. Just like in other sectors of the economy, there are people in the matatu industry who smoke bhang and there are equally several others who go about their business while sober,” says Kimutai.

 It is impossible for the police to sniff out users, yet it is steadily gaining acceptance among the youth and other sectors. Like the matatu industry the cannabis industry is now so vast and vital to the transport economy that it can no longer be ignored.

 In hidden forest plots, suspended gardens in homesteads and barns, growers nurture the potent bud. In Nairobi and in much of the  country, drug dealers can make a tidy sum from the sale of marijuana. Our source in Mutindwa told the writer that it is the ‘perfect price for everyone. Pricey compared to a stick of cigarette, but cheaper than a bottle of alcohol.

The question is; why is the government so concerned with alcohol consumption if marijuana’s usage is also as widespread and wreaking havoc within the transport industry?

Dr Lukoye Atwoli, a senior lecturer at Moi University School of Medicine, department of health, says that so far no study has linked the rising number of road accidents to marijuana.

“Studies have been done on the link between alcohol and road accidents, but so far, there is no research that has linked marijuana with accidents. Usage of alcohol is more noticeable and immediate and impairs decision-making much more than cannabis. Elimination of drunk-driving will, therefore, have an immediate effect,” says Dr Atwoli.

ARGUE

Dr Atwoli says it does not make sense for people to argue about the effects of other drugs like marijuana before effects of those that have already been established like alcohol are sorted.

“Ensuring that vehicles and roads are in good condition is more  important to curbing road accidents than focusing on marijuana. A number of Kenyans smoke bhang, but no research has shown this impairs their ability.”

DEBATE

While the debate about bhang and its effect continues to flare, its consumers are not able to enjoy it freely.  Smoking bhang is illegal and is equated to the penalties for peddling it and other harder substances  like heroin or cocaine.

 Examples from countries like Canada indicate that police are using devices known as ‘nose telescopes’ to map the smell of cannabis across cities like Denver to trace smell of weed.

 On the roads, they use what is referred to as olfactometer or the ‘Nasal Ranger,’ which measures the ratio of smell to clean air — to map individuals with an offensive smell of marijuana. Media reports indicate that fines can be imposed for anything beyond 7:1 clean to smell ratio.

 While the quest to stem usage of other drugs other than alcohol among road users picks up steam, there are concerns that people are getting more inventive on the road to beat alcoblow.

Drunken drivers have beaten the police at their own game by hiring temporary drivers (now known as designated decoys) for short distances and networking with fellow imbibers on phone and social media to find out police movements.

REVELLERS

Just a few days before Christmas last year, the police put up a roadblock right outside a social joint called Rafiki’s on Lang’ata Road.  A number of revellers made fun of the police by staggering to the roadblocks and asking the law keepers to administer alcoblow test on them to know whether they are within the legal limits or not before they get on to their vehicles. The police responded by telling them to go back and come driving.
For only Sh200, the hired drivers who hang about car parks in social joints drive drunk motorists past the police roadblock, and disembark once one has gone past the police.
It is usually easy for imbibers to know the location of the police and their roadblocks as there are Twitter handles and Facebook pages that have been created to disclose police activities on roads that have been marked as hotspots like Lang’ata Road, Waiyaki Way and Mombasa Road.
All one needs to do is to follow the information on Twitter or like the Facebook page dedicated to the same to obtain information.
According to the Ministry of Transport, some 5,937 road accidents had been recorded in the country between January and December 2013.
Further, data from the department of traffic shows that 3,018 lives were lost on the roads in the process including 1,402 pedestrians, 758 passengers, 309 motorists, 272 drivers, 150 motorcycle travellers and 127 pedal cyclists.
In January 2006 the high court suspended the use of alcoblow after motorists complained that their rights were being breached and were exposed to health risks.
The new gadget, however, comes with disposable mouthpieces through which those being tested are required to blow, thus eliminating exposures that can be classified as risky to health.