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We have all heard the term "dead sober" and this is exactly the condition in which many innocent but ignorant Kenyans youth and adult alike are actually dying as they enter vehicles operated by drivers who have been drinking.
All are under the mistaken belief that since they are sober, or have not been drinking then all should be well. This is an often fatal mistake for it is primarily the condition of the person controlling the vehicle which is crucial.
Frequently many are under the illusion that as long as they are sober they will be able to take care of or look after everybody else. They argue that they as the sober sensible ones will be able to pre-empt any nasty situation before it occurs or before it can become nasty.
As a result they watch with no undue concern as the fellow who is driving puts away round after round of alcohol even as he boasts "professional driver in control". The tragic result is seen as people leave funeral's on their way home. Vehicles overturn killing and injuring tens of Kenyans.
We see it as people leave or are heading to wedding ceremonies or parties in short, anywhere there are festivities. In fact Kenyans are so enamoured of drinking and driving, that we even have bars at petrol stations allowing you to kill two birds with one stone twice: tank up you car and yourself and then smash both intricate, efficient pieces of work to smithereens a short while later.
So determined are we about selling alcohol at petrol stations, that where there no bars we have convenience stores which sell alcohol. And convenient they are for many people will buy and consume more alcohol simply because it is available.
I remember during my drinking days we would be at a particular venue when closing time came around so with loud groans and sometimes curses we would leave. On the way home the fellow driving would stop for petrol and voila - a convenient convenience store. Next thing we would all be piling out of the car buying a few cans of beer or pooling money for one of the cheaper brands of almost rot-gut liquor which abound.
Everybody drank, including the driver but by Gods grace I am still around to tell the story. But I am painfully of aware of many who are not. So are many of you reading this. Drinking and driving causes so much pain to individuals but it also causes collective pain. The whole world went into mourning when on August 30, 1997 princess Diana of the United Kingdom was killed with her friend Dodi Fayed in Paris in a car crash. 'Crash' because when someone drinks several rounds of alcohol and then gets behind the wheel of a vehicle, and rams it into something or someone this is not an accident but a crash.
The driver forty-one- year- old Henri Paul was found to be three times over the legal French limit of alcohol allowed while still being permitted to drive. Yet subsequent investigations revealed that he did not look or act like an alcoholic or a problem drinker.
Closer to home our unruly public transport vans matatu's kill and maim thousands of Kenyans every year. Indeed this sector is the best example of how lethal is the combination of drink and drive. But this is only because they kill in large quantities so to speak.
Individual drivers however also account for high levels deaths on Kenyan roads every year. Yet in all these cases these deaths are wrongly attributed to other reasons all under the amorphous euphemism "accident!"
But how are we to prevent these needless and preventable deaths? We need to clamp down on drunk driving. But what are the laws on this? The sad truth is there are almost non-existent. For we do not even have a legally defined level for traffic officers to declare one over the limit.
Even if breathalyzers were introduced all over the country tomorrow, what would be the benchmark for declaring one legally drunk? What would be the penalties? What would happen to repeat offenders? Would there be an option of treatment instead of jail if one was found to be a problem drinker or alcoholic? I cannot answer these questions for there are no answers simply because there are hardly any parameters governing this area.
So the carnage goes on with no attempt at finding any solutions as the country continues to smother itself in denial. This issue needs to brought to the fore and debated urgently and regulations governing the use of alcohol and driving put into place. The media can start this process off overnight with a series of articles and radio and TV programmes highlighting the dangers and the solutions.
As for you as an individual before you become a victim or statistic follow these simple tips they could save your life. Firstly do not put yourself in a situation where the person in charge of getting you home drinks and drives unless there is an alternative. Either money for a taxi or there are other safer drivers. Better still, is there someone who can come and pick you up?
Do not get into a vehicle with someone who has been drinking unless you have monitored their drinking and for at least an hour after 30 ccs. (bottle of beer, a glass of wine or a shot of spirits) they have not had any more.
Do not ride with a driver who has been drinking above that level for to do so is not only stupid, but could get you dead sober!
David Ogot Sr.
12.04.04
Nairobi, Kenya
David Ogot is a freelance journalist/producer with personal experience with alcoholism. He can be reached at goinghomedotcom@yahoo.com
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