Drivers’ Moral Progress and Connected Crime and Punishment. ★
There is this paragraph that caught my eye when reading through this article in The Guardian that brought to sharp focus the behaviour of drivers on Nairobi roads as regards following rules only when there is a visible Police presence:
Car drivers, then, are an interesting example of a society, or a social game, where this mechanism does not apply. Like Russians under communism and after its fall, they have become anarchic individualists, held in line only by fear of punishment. They don’t see anything wrong in cheating, nor in other drivers cheating. Only in their hatred of cyclists is a vestigial mark of any moral sentiment.
Have we chosen to forego thought of the greater good and encouraged a me first attitude which worsens the traffic situation instead of making it better? The Traffic Act is there to make sure there is order and smooth traffic flow and minimise conflict among drivers, pedestrians and road furnishings. Ignoring it leads to what seems to have become the norm on or roads with traffic held up the entire day and half the night on most roads as motorists *fight* to get to their destinations.
Don’t get me started on the Traffic Police and manning roundabouts, that I will address the instant I have a couple of hours to spare, it isn’t the best use of their time when there exists better means of managing traffic around roundabouts and junctions.






