Police must deal ruthlessly with rogue drivers

The rains have been pounding hard across the country. And, according to the weatherman, they will not relent until the end of the year.

This is sad considering that they have and continue to wreak a lot of havoc. They have killed more than 130 people and left a trail of destruction in many parts of the country.

The rains have also disrupted transport on various routes due to flooding of roads and collapse of bridges, stranding travellers for hours.

City residents have not been spared the brunt of the heavy rains, with their houses and sections of roads getting flooded, thanks to poor drainage systems.

Flooded roads cause traffic nightmares. In fact, rain, even a drizzle, drives decorum and sanity out of most city motorists’ heads. It gives them an opportunity to break traffic rules with impunity. They overtake others carelessly, drive on the wrong side of the road, honk and hoot madly, and shout at each other. End result? Traffic comes to a standstill.

This is what happened on the Eastern By-pass on Wednesday when drivers coming from the Ruiru side drove on both sides of the road blocking oncoming vehicles at Utawala, bringing traffic on both sides of the road to a halt for up to 10 hours at night.

Unfortunately, police don’t do much to deter such uncouth behaviour. The traffic commandant should take drastic action to discourage such buffoonery. Arresting and punishing motorists who stand in the way of oncoming vehicles is the only way to banish such unbecoming practices from our roads. Rain cannot be an excuse to break the law.