By Laura Walubengo
Did you happen to see that guy on TV who had parked his car on the side of the road? I don’t know if he was drunk or drugged but he’s lucky he was wise enough to park on the side and have a nap.
While there are a lot of inappropriate issues that cropped up in that story, the one that stuck out most for me is just how blasé Kenyans seem to have become about drunk driving.
The volume was on mute when I watched it so I couldn’t really hear what was being said, however I did see that it took forever to wake the man up and bring him out of his stupor.
What completely baffled me however is that after all that effort, his friends and even the policemen who had even summoned the services of St John’s in the resuscitation efforts, saw it fit to let him drive off? That makes no sense.
It’s like it was assumed that since they had woken him up, he would struggle a little to get home, but get home eventually. What if that was not the case, and heaven forbid something happen to him?
All in all, I think we Kenyans need to take a harder look at drunk-driving and reduce our acceptance of it.
I like the campaign where badly damaged cars are placed on a podium, but clearly it is not enough. Kenyans need to look out for their friends and family who actively drink-drive to help preserve their lives and even those of would-be innocent victims.
Most of us worry and offer a word of caution, but that’s as far as it goes.
It should not be acceptable for personal cars to swerve dangerously on the roads at any time of the day.
I do not have much faith that police will take up this task and not make the arrest of drunk drivers a cash cow, but I think some personal and collective responsibility could go a long way.
Let us be careful on the roads to prevent the unnecessary loss of life. Have a good week.
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