ICT for ICT's sake...road carnage - is there an app for that?
I do not mean to throw cold water on home grown initiatives to leverage technology... http://www.itwebafrica.com/mobile/309-kenya/229396-dangerous-driving-app-lau... but sometimes I think we need to pause a little and ask a ffew questions like: - if the app is really intended to make driving safer - bearing in mind the person who can make driving safer is the driver and NOT the passenger, how does such an app really help? if anything it prompts the driver to fiddle more with his phone while driving thus making him a danger to other road users. - if I may quote the article - "Allowing users to report dangerous drivers or vehicles as well as corrupt police officers, it is intended to flag situations that could potentially lead to an accident before they do." - we can already do this by dialling a number (and if we do not have a number, then one can be put in place) - do we seriously really need an app for this? - "“Once the user downloads the app, he will have a map with an updated index of the health facilities around the area they are travelling in and the hospitals that are closest to their location,” ...Google Maps already has this. - "The app, called ‘Nduru’ after the Swahili word for ‘scream’, allows Kenyans to report accidents, reckless drivers, dangerous vehicles and other high road risks." - I think there was a similar inititiative (overlap.co.ke) with similar intentions....but I gather that did not grow legs and perhaps served more to vent frustration that bring about any tangible action. I think a bigger part of the problem is how we are as Kenyans (drivers, police, passengers, pedestrians, etc) - our attitude is what needs to be changed more than yet another overload of info which no one will have time to look at/analyse and act on. At the very best, such apps will treat the symptoms and NOT the cause. Again, with all due respect to the developers and other aspiring developers. -- Francis Hook +254 733 504561
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Francis Hook