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It had been a while since I had been around the Yaya Centre area. So, as I drove up to the junction entering Argwings Kodhek Road from the bypass, I was met with a large yellow box. I knew the intent of such a box because we have them in New York. It is an effort to reduce traffic blockage. If a car is caught in the box, it can be subjected to a fine.
I knew how it worked in the US, but I was not sure how this process worked in Nairobi. I was at a four-way junction and the intent of the box had been transformed. All the motorists could clearly see the box, outlined in yellow lines. However, instead of needing to be outside of the box, it had truly become a meeting point of all cars! The box served no purpose whatsoever.
A box does not work without enforcement and a box does not work with Kenyan drivers. Are we really supposed to wait on the edge of the box, waiting for the way to be clear? I scooted behind a car which threw itself across Argwings Kodhek with a prayer that the oncoming cars would stop. They all eventually stopped, in the middle of the box – the new meeting place.
A big yellow box in the middle of an intersection without a policeman will not deter a Nairobian motorist. There are not enough polite ones. You cannot stand on one line of the square waiting for the traffic to clear on the other three sides. They will never stop to let you through. The only way to cross to the other side is like a gangsta, or as my young son would say, "Mommy, just act like a matatu."
I am immeasurably stressed driving in Nairobi. I once ditched a radio interview at Capital FM in the CBD because I showed up at the back door and needed to park my car at the front door. I could not find the front door between the one-ways and bullying matatus. I am making a commitment to be nice behind the wheel. I will let turning cars pass. I will give way to cars entering the main road, and just facilitate a fellow motorist at least once a day. Perhaps the 'good driving gods' will smile on me and repay me.
