A case for driving slowly

It was last Friday night as we were heading home. Had just left the pub and were walking down the street. There are so many people up and about in Nairobi these days. There's a certain din that characterises the night.

So I heard the screeching of brakes somewhere behind me. I turned instinctively just in time to see a ka-van hitting something. Someone. It still had considerable speed and the individual was flung like the proverbial dolly. Unreal. There was a chic standing by the curb who started started screaming. She was with the chic who'd just been hit. Guys started to gather at the scene. Kamikaze rushed in there, insisting on the injured person being taken to hospital. I'm rather faint hearted and kept my distance. Eventually the van, with the chic who'd been hit, sped off toward what I assume was a hospital.

I didn't see the whole incident transpiring but I thought that if the vehicle wasn't moving as fast as it was, the outcome would have been different. Better different. The fewer cars on the road at night lulls us pedestrians into some false sense of security and laxity as far as walking the streets is concerned. Looking to blame isn't very productive but there is a case for driving slow[er].