While this year I want to limit my contributions to the list, I'd like to share this with you. Its tragic that so many precious lives have been lost over the last days of December through greed, sheer stupidity and recklessness. I've been a kenyan road user since 86 and can tell you the situation gets bad around the festive seasons. I also think it is an impossible task for the Kenya Traffic Police to police every road to enforce the laws on safety. I've just wound up on my almost 2000km kenyan drive and can tell you this : There are plenty of dangerious drivers on the roads. - The number one offenders are the public transporters, whether passenger or goods. - The number two offenders are private vehicle owners who are far more reckless than public transporters - The number three offenders are now motor-cyclists who are dangeriously invading the highways, carrying all sorts of goods on their bikes The point of creating the civilian under-cover mobile units is this : - All road users know where the traffic police are. This is evident from exchanges between drivers of PSV vehicles who use hand signals or flash head lights to know the locations. If you follow a PSV vehicle, it can be doing upto a 110km/h and once they exchange the signals, the driver of the vehicle will slow down to even 70Km/h and within a short distance you will see the road blocks manned by the Kenyan Police. How can one defeat this system of abuse? The Mobile Team Unit: - Each civilian vehicle is provided with a speed detection radar, a camera, a laptop and internet connection - The same vehicle will have a team of 4 people : a) Driver b) A Police person, preferrably from HQ c) Photographer who edits and mails the images d) Ministry of Transport official The flow of information: ( Operation Highway Sting ) - The driver of the civilian vehicle will maintain the legal speeds as per the highway code. This route opener will start the journey say from Nairobi to Nakuru. - Any vehicle that exceeds the speeds and passes the route opener under-cover unit will have its photograph taken with the number plate, radar speed detection and gps postion with date and time stamp. - The Police person will make a note of the number plate of the vehicle and relay the information via radio or cellphone to the Kenya Police who will be manning the road blocks. - The photographer will edit the image size and mail it immediately to the section controllers - The MOT official will provide any tips of un-roadworthiness of the vehicle to the stationary team. The Stationary Team Unit: - Each Kenya Police Road Block along the highway eg Nairobi-Nakuru will have a stationary team to assist them with the information. - Will have a laptop, printer and an internet connection. A technology person will operate the system. - MOT Official to check roadworthiness of the offending vehicles. The flow of information: - With a hard copy printed of the offense of over speeding or reckless driving, the Police can stop the vehicles at the road blocks and issue tickets to offenders with hefty fines to follow or block unroadworthy vehicles completely. The benefits : - None of the highway users will know the under cover vehicles - Save Lives. This above is just a summary, the system can be done with a central database that can track future offenders.