Driving in Kenya

1.  Expect traffic. At any hour of the day. Even at 20:00 you could find yourself in a ‘jam' (that's what gridlock is un-affectionately known as). I find that if you expect to be stuck in traffic when popping out, you significantly reduce the amount of stress involved in quickly picking up say, a carton of milk. A 15 minute trip could take you 45. Also switch off the stove, gas, lights and all electrical appliances just in case, as you would have lost the entire contents of your house to fire before actually making it home.

2. Disregard what you have learnt about traffic lights. I have been driving in Nairobi for about 2 months now and I have come across 2 sets of traffic lights in the entire city. These lights are purely for decorative purposes and serve no real function. Green means go. Red means go. Orange means go.

3. Disregard what you have learnt about stop street signs. As per above, I have been driving for around 2 months and have come across 1 stop street. This serves as a head rest for the weary and by no means indicates the actual need to stop.

4. Do not fret with unnecessary accessories such as flickers. Contrary to popular belief flickers actually drain your battery power, and therefore should never be used. It is also completely impractical as you will find yourself so close to the vehicle directly behind you that they will not physically be able to see the little flickering light. When changing lanes, a gentle hoot and sharp turn in either direction will suffice. Try and wait for the vehicle approaching from behind you to actually be next to you when doing this, you do not want to be considered courteous. Ever.

5. Crossing at an intersection. Again, no need to indicate. The practical way of doing this is by driving directly into the intersection, thereby rendering it gridlocked until you can successfully squeeze yourself into the opposite lane. If you are lucky someone else has already done that in front of you, and you simply tail gate that person at a distance of no further than 3mm or men can use the much discussed ball hair for comparison.

6. Roundabouts. These can be tricky in any country, as not everyone is familiar with the ‘give way to the right' theory. However in Nairobi you do not even have to be sure of which lane you need to be in. Simply cutting across three lanes of traffic to your exit of choice is quite fine. 

7. Bicycles and motorbikes. There is no real need for the “Think Bike” campaign in Nairobi. I believe that campaign stemmed from people not actually seeing bikes and then accidentally driving into them. Not so in Nairobi. Bikes can be used to transport a multitude of items including but not limited to; mattresses, goats, wood pallets, and an entire classroom of nursery school children.  If you do not see a bike approaching, you should honestly think about having your eyes tested.

8. Mutatos. The Local Taxi's. These guys are the God's of the roads. Tis true, in many of the back windows you will find logo's such as ‘God's Own' or ‘In God we Trust'. They are clearly referring to themselves. They always have right of way. They may always drive into oncoming traffic on the wrong side of the road. They may always use sidewalks and, or create entire new lanes. Do not make eye contact as this indicates that you are giving them the go ahead to push ahead in front of you. Look forward and snarl slightly, proceed on-wards to your destination.

9. Bumper Bashing's. Should you find yourself in an accident, well done. This would indicate that traffic may have actually been flowing at some point. Whatever you do, do not move your vehicle out of the road thereby removing yet another obstacle from the Nairobi roads, specifically in peak hour traffic. No no. You and the bumper/bumpee should stay absolutely stationary, accumulating a build up of traffic behind you. He with the longest queue of cars behind him wins.   

So there we go, I hope this information helps you all on your travels in and around Nairobi City.

Having lived in South Africa for 20 years, i have now moved to Nairobi, the main difference is the size of the roads in Kenya and the volume of traffic using the smaller roads, buses here are a big problem, they do not give way, taxis are nearly as bad, but!! the only way to drive here is to be forceful, don't hesitate, (but be safe) fit in with the other drivers, I would think a learner driver would find it very difficult to initially adjust to the road conditions and road users especially in the rush hour, lack of flyovers at the roundabouts make life very difficult, lack of traffic lights at junctions also are a concern, on the whole it its a case of getting used to different driving conditions and adjusting to the way people use the roads here,

Hi,
I am Kenyan and this article is hilarious and true! But, think about it, people often don't know what they don't know. If I went and bought a driving licence for instance rather than take a full course and actually QUALIFY, the clearly, everything on here makes for truth. Another thing, its easy to pick and keep bad habits until you see good ones. In my case, I did a good genuine course but until I went to UK, I didn't know how dangerous our driving was! and I hear some neighboring countries are worse! I also have friends who have bad driving skills and have had them for years. Try telling them that its dangerous and they remind you that they started driving before 'you acquired your ID card'.!
A real pointer - the thika super highway - when it was opened, accidents and deaths marked it. Why? for the first time, people had to actually comply to some driving standards - including pedestrians complying to crossing from the right points and without being on cell phone.!

I could write a book...
Good article though.

It is a mess!!!

As someone who lived in Delhi, the road here are child's play! Yes, the matatus (mini buses) are crazy, and yes, there is a little more leeway to make your own rules, but in general, people stick to predictable driving patterns. I feel quite safe on the roads here.

Agreed..there does seem to be worse places out there. The idea is to be able to 'predict' driving behavior fairly well otherwise you'd have to die of panic of anxiety!

Today, I saw someone take right when they were in the inner most lane of a roundabout forcing all the other lanes on the left to stop abruptly - te he he..and the guy genuinely looks innocent! Even the cop just shook his head and let him go

oh by the way the worst part is the confusion between the traffic police and the traffic lights! Am never sure when to go or stop when these two work at the same time. Sometime back at valley road (the lights around state house) a bus rammed into another from the back reason - the lights said go, driver sped off, then midway the policeman waved him to stop and naturally the bus behind the first one couldn't brake that fast! I was like    what???

Expect the unexpected and avoid driving at night, especially outside the city, really sums up the driving experience in Kenya.   Coming from the UK, where most drivers obey the rules, driving in Nairobi was a real eye opener. I have driven in Kenya for about 10 years.

In Nairobi particularly, the road network is has not developed in line with the increase in vehicle ownership.  The result is frequent gridlock.  Rush hour (or hours) is the worst, but traffic around the city centre is always heavy, except for Sunday.  Drivers are impatient and do not like giving way, which adds to the confusion.  At rush hour, two lane roads are turned into 4 or 5 lane roads, as drivers weave to try and gain a slight advantage.

As others have said; do not expect traffic to give way to you on roundabouts and anticipate that vehicles to your left are actually going to turn right.  At junctions, don't expect someone to give way if it is your right of way.  While waiting to turn right, expect the vehicles to your left and right to be also waiting to go in the same direction as you are.  Traffic lights tend to be treated as advisory.  If you slam on the brakes because the light has turned red, it is likely that someone will run into the back of you, as most drivers don't stop at a red signal.  The issue is further confused by police directing traffic at many roundabouts - the traffic lights operate, but completely out of sync with the police officers direction - you should obey the police officer in these situations!  I find that Kenyan drivers are much more willing to use their indicators than British drivers are.

As well as all the cars buses, trucks etc, drivers must be aware of motorcyclists and pedestrians, both of which will act as if they are tired of life.

Vehicles are left in situ after an accident because that is the law - vehicle cannot be moved until the police have attended.  Unfortunately, this law does not suit modern traffic conditions, so gridlock tends to be the result.

Out of town, driving tends to be easier.  On dual carriageways, drivers tend not to know which lane they should be in, so trucks tend to drive in the inside and outside lane, leading to other drivers both under and overtaking - there is no choice about this if you want to make progress, even though undertaking is technically against the law.  Thorough use of all the mirrors is advisable.  Pedestrians will readily cross dual carriageways, rather than using proper crossings - people being run over is a frequent occurrence.  The main hazard out of town is ill planned overtaking - always be prepared to get off the road (if you can).  Driving at night is particularly hazardous, as many vehicles are poorly lit.  Broken down vehicles are often left unlit in the middle of the road.

Speed bumps:  Kenyans love these - they are all over the place in Nairobi and are also to be found wherever a road passes through a built up area, university etc.  Some of them are huge and ordinary cars easily get grounded on them.

Potholes:  To be found on many routes, although things have improved to several years ago.  You never know how deep they are, so, especially in the rainy season, they are to be avoided.

Despite the mayhem, road rage seems to be relatively rare and drivers won't intentionally race you, or cut you up, out of spite, or anger, or get out of their cars and 'have a go'.

The matatu menace:  As they are in a highly competitive industry, the driving standards tend to be poor, as they compete for passengers with one another, with undertaking, pushing in and pulling over with little/no warning.  They are not unknown to nip onto the wrong side of the road, or the verge, to get around an obstruction.  Things are better than they were a few years ago, as penalties for speeding, undertaking etc can be severe and the police just love to stop them.

The biggest problem here ( Uganda, Tanzania no different either) is that most of the drivers on the roads do not know the 'rules of the road'. They have never had any education on it as people here simply buy their driving permits. There is no such thing as courtesy to other road users. Once they sit behind the wheel it is their road and they have priority. I get really angry when I see how drivers have absolutely no respect for pedestrians and or cyclists. Matatus and Tuk tuks are, in general, the worst offenders but to be fair to them most of the people driving here have the same attitude.... if you cant beat them, join them.

Of course if the Police were a little bit more pro active in enforcing the rules of the road instead of wanting  TKK, things may be a little different.

After reading all the contributions, which are very insightful, I have come to the conclusion that the best solution in the interim is to try and do the right thing at a personal level as often as feasible. If say 50% of the current drivers did this, there would be a significant shift and over time the rest might come along. Waiting for things to be perfect be it roads, police, traffic lights et al is not the best option and that could take forever. It ought to be a behavioral change first at a personal level which then translates into culture.

Jams are mad in Nairobi and they can consume your life horribly if you do not take the right routes at the right hours, you NEED TO KNOW YOUR JOURNEY OPTIONS very well, Nbi has shorcuts and alternatives that only advanced users know. Use taxis the first weeks to get to know such routes. NO single road is straight and you cannot predict where they will take you by simply looking at the direction of the road... STUDY THE MAP AND TEST UNTIL YOU GET TO KNOW YOUR WAY AROUND.

A VERY GOOD thing is that there is no verbal or other types of violence among drivers in jams as seen in many, many other countries, although buses and motorcycles drive disrespectfully. People drive very badly because permits were bought and still are, they do not drive safely because of ignorance, a majority cannot anticipate problems and resolve complicated situations but average person does not like to rush driving, only PSVs and some idiots.

Just be cool, I have been around for 20 years and it is the only thing that works, be tough on buses when they try to overtake illegally but do not engage in talking or similar. Be patient and you will get home happier than if you are not.

Be weary of the police because if you look at them hesitantly or you make a traffic mistake they will stop you for sure seeking a bribe or simply doing their job. PROTECT YOURSELF AGAINST ABUSE: make sure you have your emergency triangles, first aid kit and all other elements in the car are fine, then you can engage secure of yourself in a polite but firm conversation with the officer(s). Traffic laws are confusing and the roads have insufficient signs about speed limits and one way roads, so GET TO KNOW YOUR TRAFFIC RULES. There are small pocket guides and web resources on this.

Roads are badly designed, truly overcrowded, wrongly used and at night they are a security hazard due to bad signals, lack of lights, potholes, fallen objects and a long so on. AVOID DRIVING AT NIGHT out of the town centre AND ALL OVER THE PLACE PASSED 11am.

There is a reliable driving system and culture after all in all this 'organised chaos' but the best trick is to know your DOS AND DONT'S (rush hours, some routes, some days and some situations such as drinking and driving or carrying loads badly placed in the car) if you do so it is fine and smooth, i insist that people are polite after all and there is a prevailing sense of calm in the middle of the storm.

IF the money is not a problem at all, can used ( Eg ) a car like that :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19S6ujbggSU  ( 1946 Dodge Pickup Street Rod I like it )
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgxJN3TBgwY   (  1928 Ford Street Rod Pickup I loke it )
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxBMkdrwejA  ( 1966 Pontiac GTO :_)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnVDy0WsxLM  ( 1970 Dodge Charger :_)

well the problems I can seen is the driver cabin located American way
Any ideas?