Speed cameras giving Kenyan motorists nightmares on the roads

Motorists agony as speed cameras put off the killer ‘thrill’:
Forget the breathalyser. Kenyan motorists are having nightmares on the roads, courtesy of yet another exotic device; the speed camera. Imagine being waved down by a random police patrol unit on a busy highway and declared guilty of speeding.

But just as you frantically dismiss it as a case of mistaken identity or poor judgment by the cops, evidence is brandished right on your face in the form of still and video images of the colour, type, make and number plate of your vehicle, and the illegal speed at which you were driving.

Humbled, and with no other line of defence, you are left with no other option but to pay a Sh10,000 cash bail, or be briefly detained in police custody as you await your day in court. Such was the ill fate that befell 7,713 motorists last year. Courtesy of the mobile speed cameras, they paid a total of Sh52 million in fines. In the past month, traffic police officers have been making random operations on major highways across the county with devastating results. On Thursday morning, officers from Traffic Police Headquarters conducted an operation along the Nairobi-Mombasa highway.

The first stop was just before Mlolongo town, a built-up area with a speed cap of 50 kilometers per hour (Kph). The cops strategically took position just after four prominent road signs indicating the speed limit in the accident-prone area. Just two minutes into the operation, four vehicles had been flagged down. Ten minutes later, there was barely any space by the wayside to park more vehicles. From Coast-bound buses to saloon cars, no vehicle category avoided the dragnet. Most were moving at an average speed of 90Kph, with the highest recording 101Kph.

Never saw road signs “I never saw any of the road signs. They should be placed on both sides of the road since this is a dual carriage way,” Ibrahim Abdillah, whose Toyota Landcruiser had exceeded the limit, said as he instantly paid a cash bail. A female offender wept as she pleaded for leniency, explaining that she was rushing in a bid to be on time for the hearing of her case in Mavoko. Others made multiple calls to friends, relatives and employers requesting to be sent money via mobile banking services as bemused passengers looked on.

Like Abdillah, most of the other offenders readily admitted their offences; amid mumbles that they never saw the signage. Some confessed addiction to driving at an average of 100Kph in the area. “All these motorists cannot be wrong. This road is not complete and the authorities should mark it properly before they start arresting offenders,” Gitiche Chege exclaimed as he received a receipt for his cash bail. Mr Peter Isanda, a chief inspector of police in charge of road safety, dismissed the excuses, saying most Kenyan motorists rarely observe road signs and speed limits.

“Many just concentrate on the road and not the road signs. This is one of the reasons why we have high road carnage,” stated Isanda, who led the operation. “How would one avoid causing an accident when driving at 100 kilometers per hour through such a busy town?”

The inspector noted that most motorists do not understand road signs, a problem he blames on poor training in driving schools and rampant backdoor acquisition of road licenses. He, however, admits that many major roads, including black spots, lack proper road signs, a problem he blames on wanton vandalism of the traffic signage. The hand-held cameras record clear images and pick speed from as far as three kilometers.

The operator, usually a plainclothed officer positioned away from the main team, uses a radio to convey registration numbers of offending motorists to the arresting officers. Currently, there are 11 such digital devices, which were obtained in May last year at a cost of Sh14 million.  “The cameras are very accurate and tamper-proof. If any motorist denies speeding, we instantly provide video evidence complete with printouts of the same,” explains Isanda. With the speed cameras causing shock waves on the roads, motorists have, as expected, devised shrewd formulas to outwit the law enforcers; with substantial success.  Isanda notes that once a single PSV is arrested for speeding, all matatu saccos and bus firms operating on the route are swiftly alerted, leading to almost 100 percent compliance. “PSV crews are also increasingly tipping private motorists about our whereabouts,” he reveals.

Patrol unit This was clearly evident when the patrol unit moved further down to Chumvi area along the highway seeking to arrest PSV and private drivers exceeding the 80Kph and 100Kph limits respectively. While most motorists were visibly speeding down the smooth stretch, they would instantly respond to the multiple flashing headlights of oncoming traffic by slowing down to as low as 20Kph.  Only two motorists entered the dragnet in the area. Similar tactics have been widely reported along Thika superhighway and the Nairobi-Nakuru highway.

“To overcome this challenge, we normally conduct swift and random operations before the signal has been circulated,” explains Isanda. Other challenges the cops say they face include some motorists refusing to stop or others diverting routes before reaching the roadblock after realising they have been detected. To overcome some of the challenges, the inspector says plans are underway to soon increase the number of cameras along major highways to five to boost compliance. Currently, each region in the country, with the exception of North Eastern, has at least one camera.

While some officers reveal that they recorded speeds of up to 170Kph last year, Isanda says motorists are increasingly easing on the gas pedal due to fear of the unknown.  To avert inconveniences, the inspector says they lay ambush near wayside centres and police stations to ease access to banking services for those seeking to pay cash bail and lock up those who cannot afford to pay.
-standardmedia.co.ke