Does Kenya impose any special road-law restrictions on young or inexperienced drivers? Might they be a good idea, and what could/should those restrictions be?
There is overwhelming evidence, worldwide, that younger (or newer) drivers are more prone to having accidents than older (or more experienced) motorists. But to the best of my knowledge, Kenya’s Traffic Act gives them exactly equal rights - and no additional restrictions - on the road.
There are age and experience requirements for PSV drivers (whose integrity is anybody’s guess; observance of helmet disciplines by motorcycle riders is a parallel indicator), but none for private cars.
The statistics are stark. Worldwide, the proportion of young drivers who have an accident of some sort in the first year after passing their test is...more than 90%!
The proportion of more mature and experienced drivers likely to have an accident in any given year is...less than 10%.
While there are certainly some extremely able young drivers, and some careful ones, and there are some fairly clumsy and risk-prone older drivers, and some over-confident ones, those numbers put the exceptional vulnerability of young drivers beyond doubt.
The underlying cause of this age/experience distinction is perhaps best identified by this formula: In every 100 high-risk situations, 99 times the participants will escape unhurt. Only 1 will end in a crash or collision.
Younger drivers are less likely to recognise risky situations in advance, and even when they do, they tend to base their decisions on the 99% chance of getting away with it. Older drivers are more likely to read the situation sooner and more accurately, and will base their decision on the 1% chance of a bad outcome.
This syndrome has been well known, globally, for many decades. As have the celebratory excitement of passing the test (achieving a major right of passage), the urge to demonstrate that status to peers, the blood rush of empowerment of having 100 horsepower in your command, the proclivity for more frequent and less inhibited parties, the “fashion” for mixing alcohol and drugs, the means to indulge those lifestyle patterns (and afford a car), the lack of a case-load of mid-life responsibilities, all while their hormones are behaving like a popcorn machine...
While reckless driving contributes to accidents, authorities should also look into the poorly designed roads.
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The result is hardly a surprise, and the root causes are to some extent just human...and incurable. The need for externally imposed “additional” controls (aka restrictions) is a no-brainer.
The challenge is what they should be; the even bigger challenge is how to enforce them...including the level of competence and diligence of the enforcers.
The cause factors are not unique to Kenya; nor is the outcome. But many countries have designed, tested and implemented special remedies. And now with increasing urgency.
Even 60 years ago, the French (and perhaps others) required first-year drivers to display a warning plate to other road users and set them a lower max speed limit. They were only allowed to carry one passenger, who had to have at least 5 years licenced experience.
Almost all western-world systems have massively upgraded their teaching systems and requirements to a level of knowledge and testing stringency that even life-long and world-travelling drivers would struggle to pass.
The theory test is loaded with computerised simulations, and the practical test is extensive, thorough, and with candidates examined one-at-a-time.
The Canadians (whose universal road conduct, and their road and traffic systems) are exemplary by our standards. They have recently imposed special additional restrictions on young drivers – like a curfew between midnight and 5 am, no passengers, graduated driving licences requiring 20 months of further training to get a full licence, and compulsory warning plates on the back of the car.
These laws are all enforced by fleets of police motorcycle officers equipped with sophisticated computer kits to identify vehicles and their drivers with details.
In addition to the physical safeguards, the system is a powerful message and attitude-changer for those subject to it. Since that full restriction menu has been introduced, the accident rate among young drivers has dropped...by 83%!
And right now in the UK – where they are horrified by statistics that are a magnitude better than ours - right now there’s a select committee in Parliament to decide the what and how of additional restrictions on young drivers.
Kenya does not have the resources to precisely match their remedies or result. But it does have some things to think about.
