Instant traffic fines: There's more than meets the eye

“Advanced technology and magic are indistinguishable,” said Arthur C. Clarke, the famous science fiction writer who predicted artificial satellites.

That magic is best displayed by cameras that identify your car, its speed and the corresponding fine. Other magic includes mobile phone, microwave oven, Zoom meetings and M-Pesa. Add to the list.

The statement by the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) that there is no human interference in the camera system is contestable. Cameras are programmed and calibrated by human beings.

Someone decides what is overspending and the fine. Even artificial intelligence (AI) has a human factor. We train AI systems to do most of the things we think make it “clever.” There is nothing like a completely autonomous system. 

Beyond the legal issue of a machine being the prosecutor and judge, there are bigger issues. Everyone seems to agree that one is innocent until proven guilty. It’s the pedestal on which our justice systems rest. Even suspected murderers have their day in court. Why not a less “evil” like speeding?  Maybe we should automate the judicial system, with each crime and corresponding fine. What will be the fine for murder?  

Two is what is speeding. My small car’s speedometer shows the maximum speed is 180 kilometres per hour (kph). Why is 120kph over speeding? How did we arrive at 80kph for matatus and public vehicles? Any data to demonstrate that is the safest speed?

This was the maximum speed when cars were manual. Now they are automatic and even self-driven. The same speed limit was in force long before going to school. And I had a stint of Jomo Kenyatta’s reign.

Three, any evidence that speeding is the leading cause of accidents? German highways (autobahns) have no speed limit. Are they less safe?  What of other causes like road design? Don’t we have black spots well indicated? What of fake car spare parts? 

Four, the speed cameras are hidden. Why, if the objective is to reduce road carnage and not collect money? Why are the cameras not placed near black spots?

Why in places where one is “psychologically” likely to speed because the road is well designed? We should get value for our money. Where will the fines go? Improve the road’s safety?

Five, why build good roads if we can’t drive fast and save time, which makes our economy more efficient and productive? Why cameras on expressways, yet we pay “to speed”? Time is money. Let me demonstrate.

Let’s assume the average earning for 20 million working Kenyans is Sh20,000 per month, and one works 160 hours per month (eight hours for 20 days). 

That translates to Sh125 an hour. Five minutes is worth Sh10.4. That leads to a saving of Sh208 million per month just by saving five minutes! A whopping Sh2.5 billion per year.

We still want a slow speed? By the way, in the US, you can drive above the speed limit as long as you keep up with the traffic! They value time; we, too, should. Why do we copy the US political system and not its operational system, including the Protestant work ethic?

Six, accidents are not the leading cause of death in Kenya.  Any “cameras” for other causes, e.g non-communicable diseases? 

Seven, if I am fined for speeding, let’s be fair, I should be compensated for driving slowly. Let’s stretch the truth, in case of a traffic jam, the camera should detect that I am stuck and pay me for the” suffering.” Getting my M-Pesa number is unlikely to be a problem for the camera system.

I have raised the same issue with airlines; they charge me for overweight baggage but don’t pay me for underweight baggage, which reduces the amount of fuel used by the plane. Joke aside, we should fine slow drivers, particularly on the Thika Superhighway.

Eight, and annoyingly, we don’t make these cars or cameras. Why the eagerness to collect money through them? 

Nine, the cameras might not be just about speed.  It could be linked to the 2027 polls, keeping us busy and in control, something to mentally occupy us. And many other such “projects” will follow, including suddenly changing the don’s retirement age. 

What of the Data Control Act?  Beyond my car speed, what other data does the camera collect without my consent? Where is the data kept, and what is it used for?  

Ten, the car should be declared the national god; why so much focus on it from status to revenue raising? The car has been there since 1886. Why the antiquated belief that owning a car is affluence? There are lots of poor car owners. 

Finally, a silver lining. The cameras could lead to innovations. America’s most advanced weapon is a stealth bomber, the B-2 Spirit.

It can’t be detected by the radar. Venture capitalists, please join me! We design a stealth car that can’t be detected by cameras. We shall swim in the money in case cameras remain on our roads.