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It is indeed unfortunate to see innocent
commuters perish miserably on the wheels of death simply because of our
drivers’ negligence of simple safety traffic regulations. If anyone would bother to wind back the clock 12
years ago, a picture of the late John Michuki’s traffic regulations would
clearly resurface, that is for those who had the opportunity to live then.
Traffic madness to a large extent, reduced significantly compared to the prior
cases although some cartels eventually messed it up. Michuki rules miscarriage was largely linked to
individualistic interests who were geared towards establishing monopolistic
transport atmosphere in the country among many other reasons although the
primary idea was a fairly welcoming one. We might not experience such exact misfortunes
with the new NTSA measures but something similar to that is highly and likely
to be witnessed. Because if a driver is for example found to be operating a
vehicle minus a valid driving license, the rule spells out a ksh1,000 for
the offender. Meaning after meeting that penalty, he/she can just proceed
on with the journey, come back tomorrow again to the same spot pays the amount,
drive on and make it a habit. If the government will capitalize on
these measures to generate revenue for itself at the expense of what it is not
intended for, (sanity on our roads), then no doubt we are yet to witness a
replica of “Michuki rules” debacle. I am afraid that even with the rampant
extortion for bribes of matatu operators on our roads by traffic
officers would see this vibrant idea just die an artificial death like the Michuki’s
rather than spruce up the public transport sector.
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