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Grasp and follow yellow box rule, Nairobi motorists urged

The City Hall official encouraged motorists to adhere to the set road use etiquette which directs "no entering into a yellow box at any one given time" unless the exits are clear/MIKE KARIUKI

The City Hall official encouraged motorists to adhere to the set road use etiquette which directs “no entering into a yellow box at any one given time” unless the exits are clear/MIKE KARIUKI

NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 1 – Known for its perennial traffic gridlocks, fresh attempts are being made to de-congest roads in Nairobi’s Central Business District with re-introduction of the yellow box at intersections.

City Assistant Engineer John Mwangi states the new initiative will “eliminate clogging of vehicles at junctions” and decongest city roads.

“The idea behind the yellow box is to ensure that by the time you are getting into the intersection you have checked the exit and you have found it is clear and you are able to clear the intersection such that the next people to enter that junction whether by traffic lights or manual control by traffic marshals, the junction remains open every time,” he said.

The City Hall official encouraged motorists to adhere to the set road use etiquette which directs “no entering into a yellow box at any one given time” unless the exits are clear.

“The advantage of this is that you do not get the junction clogged with traffic stopping right at the centre of the junction. If you note, we have only marked the centre of the intersection and that is the area within which we are saying you should not stop there at any one given time,” he said.

While realizing that many motorists may not be aware of the yellow boxes, he stated that a sensitization process will be undertaken to ensure that everyone is familiar with it.

“You need to ensure that by the time you are released by the lights, you have checked where you are driving to and found that it is clear and if you find there is a queue, it does not make sense to strain the other traffic by moving to that space,” he stated.

He stressed that anyone found breaking the rule after this will be dealt with firmly.

He pointed out that the yellow boxes have been placed at junctions along Kenyatta Avenue, Mama Ngina Street, Wabera Street and City Hall Way.

Capital FM News sought the views of some motorists and most had no idea what the yellow boxes were with some saying that it will make no difference since there needs to be an attitude change.

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“Something that is drawn and there is nothing written on it is quite difficult to understand and that is what is happening here. I think that when you get there and you see no car, you enter into the junction,” Peter Maina, a businessman within the CBD stated.

“Even of the council askaris standing at the junction to direct traffic will have no impact on the behaviour of motorists. Especially looking at the buses, they are the ones who will be at the forefront of breaking the rules,” a taxi operator said.

“I have not understood the meaning of those yellow boxes at the junctions. When the traffic lights turn green I just see motorists going and that is it,” Fred Njagi, another cab driver stated.

Since the re-introduction of the yellow boxes on Saturday, Traffic Marshalls have been placed at strategic locations to direct traffic and deal with any obstruction as per the Traffic Act.

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