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"id": 294660,
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"speaker_name": "Mr. Mureithi",
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"speaker": {
"id": 89,
"legal_name": "Erastus Kihara Mureithi",
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"content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I stand to support the Bill. In spite of all the problems that we are having, we need to relook at this Traffic Bill with the intention of improving our own security on the roads. However, there are many issues that have been omitted. One of them is the issue of reflectors. We only talk of reflectors on the vehicles forgetting that there are many other road users who require reflectors. When you go to the sugar-cane growing areas, you will realize that there are big trucks that have been causing deaths, particularly at night. They must be designed in such a way that they have enough reflectors, so that they are visible when on the roads. The other things that people forget are the donkey-carts and the human-carts. At night it is not possible to see them. So, we need to design a way of making these carts have reflectors to avoid harming the people who handle the carts. We have a problem with our roads. You are all familiar with the Thika Super highway. If you are travelling on Thika Road from Kahawa, it will take you about 15 minutes to reach Museum Hill. However, from the Museum Hill to Parliament, it will take you one hour. As we make these amendments, we need to do a parallel Bill on our roads. One of the clauses in the Bill says that you cannot overtake. If there are areas where the roadside has earth and there are vehicles moving at a low speed, really if you have a car that can use the earth section of the road you should be allowed to pass. However, it is now an offence for you to overtake on that section of the road. It is necessary that as we move amendments to this Bill we understand that our traffic problems are caused more by the state of our roads. They are not suitable for the number of vehicles using them. With regard to highways, in other countries, for example the USA, they have highway cars. These cars monitor vehicles and issue tickets on the spot. There are no negotiations. I am appealing to the Government to turn to e-Government. In the USA, if you are asked to give your information, it is immediately keyed in to New York and your history is immediately revealed to the police officer on the road. He is then able to book you or recommend that your licence be withdrawn. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I recommend that the Government establishes a data centre so that information about drivers is keyed in. This will enable police officers to know the history of drivers on the road. They will tell for instance whether one is a killer driver, or whether a driver has been booked before. That is done on the spot in advanced countries, for example South Africa. The reason the Michuki Rules have not taken root is because we have been depending on the same human personnel that were there before Michuki. If you do not have a strong personality like Michuki, who was able to stick to the rules, then it becomes difficult to break old habits. We know that old habits die hard. For the Traffic (Amendment) Bill to take root, we must have a system whereby we are able to monitor drivers and stakeholders. We need to know how people behave. There is a problem with traffic in the rural areas. Even where motorcyclists have driving licences you will find that they are arrested by the police. We need to stop the harassment of motorcyclists by the police. These people look for food. We should allow these people to earn their living as opposed to them being harassed by the police. This has made them abandon their motorcycles to go and do things that are not good. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, this Bill is good, but it requires a lot of amendments, so that it reflects the Kenya that we are in today. The Kenya we have today is one that is literate. It is one that requires a data centre where all our data is put. We need a Kenya that promotes entrepreneurship at the grassroots level. In my constituency, motorcyclists are harassed. They are asked to pay hefty amounts of money which they cannot afford. They are, therefore, afraid of owning their own motorbikes. We need to create an environment conducive to entrepreneurship. As a country that takes pride in having human capital, we need to ask the Government to develop IT that monitors all the people involved. With those remarks, I beg to support."
}