I am generally the type that considers myself quite courteous and considerate while driving and I often give way for people driving out of their houses or side roads and I try not to block junctions, exits, intersections and accesses to/from homes and businesses as well as practice good driving etiquette while on the roads much to the chagrin and unending scorn of many motorists whom you would think were rushing to put out a fire at 6.30 am in the morning. I do not overlap nor overtake on the wrong side of the road and I definitely do not jump traffic lights while driving on the highways and in Nairobi city center.
My courtesy logic is based on the premise that I do not like getting stuck in traffic jams and therefore I plan my journey with this in mind. I leave my house at 6.00 a.m in the morning and take a leisurely 45 minutes to get to the office. So if I give way to a few motorists as they exit their homes, or yield at a junction, exit or intersection so that I do not block it unnecessarily, so what after all my official day commences at 8.30 a.m meaning that I have a whole 1 hour 45 minutes to kill reading my newspaper in the car oblivious to the chaos wrought on the roads by those who woke up late and are in a rush to get wherever they are going and at any cost and inconvenience to other motorists!!
I was therefore somewhat surprised the other day by the courtesy directed at me by a representative of that much maligned matatu driver clique who very courteously waved me through as I attempted to enter a major road from a side road. It was a relatively busy time of day 2.00 p.m ish and I was expecting the usual reluctance by drivers to yield and let me join the road but for this matatu driver in a well turned out and clean matatu.
It got me thinking that common courtesy on the road is often overshadowed by the blatant and flippant disregard for driving etiquette exhibited by so many of the motorists in this country.....and not from the usual suspects the matatu and taxi drivers, but from all and sundry busy executives, mums & dads taking kids to school, school bus drivers, van salespeople, government/parastatal drivers, motor cyclists, cyclists, boda boda riders, mkokoteni pushers etc.
Without condoning or giving excuses for the matatu driving culture which is at best atrocious we should not look at the matatu driver's speck in the eye without seeing the log in our own because like it or not we all exhibit some horrible driving manners while on the roads leading up to impossible scenarios and situation borne out of selfishness and idiocy to get ahead of everyone else and ultimately creating grid locks and traffic jams that ultimately delay us in getting to our destinations.
I have not forgotten the pedestrians because last but not least they also contribute to the confusion of an already volatile situation by walking on the roads and newly constructed overpasses, crossing while the traffic lights are red for pedestrians, walking against the flow of traffic, crossing roads at undesignated and dangerous sections, crossing against the flow of traffic and generally having a lackadaisical and cavalier attitude as if cars have eyes and will 'see' them as they make a mad dash to cross a road oblivious to the looming danger of speeding cars or crossing in front of your car from left to right as you yield for cars coming from the right meaning that you will not see them since your attention as a driver is in spotting a gap between oncoming cars so that you can make it safely across the road.
Can we not have a "Road Courtesy Day" set aside specifically for all of us to exercise courtesy to each other, motorists and pedestrians alike, and see whether it makes a difference to our commuting time wherever we are going because I am sure it will save us all a bunch of agro, inculcate a sense of caring and generally make life less harried and stressful.........and get us to our destinations quicker.
Without condoning or giving excuses for the matatu driving culture which is at best atrocious we should not look at the matatu driver's speck in the eye without seeing the log in our own because like it or not we all exhibit some horrible driving manners while on the roads leading up to impossible scenarios and situation borne out of selfishness and idiocy to get ahead of everyone else and ultimately creating grid locks and traffic jams that ultimately delay us in getting to our destinations.
I have not forgotten the pedestrians because last but not least they also contribute to the confusion of an already volatile situation by walking on the roads and newly constructed overpasses, crossing while the traffic lights are red for pedestrians, walking against the flow of traffic, crossing roads at undesignated and dangerous sections, crossing against the flow of traffic and generally having a lackadaisical and cavalier attitude as if cars have eyes and will 'see' them as they make a mad dash to cross a road oblivious to the looming danger of speeding cars or crossing in front of your car from left to right as you yield for cars coming from the right meaning that you will not see them since your attention as a driver is in spotting a gap between oncoming cars so that you can make it safely across the road.
Can we not have a "Road Courtesy Day" set aside specifically for all of us to exercise courtesy to each other, motorists and pedestrians alike, and see whether it makes a difference to our commuting time wherever we are going because I am sure it will save us all a bunch of agro, inculcate a sense of caring and generally make life less harried and stressful.........and get us to our destinations quicker.
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