VOA标准英语2012--Kenyan Driving Schools Aim to Decrease Road Fatalities
时间：2012-05-03 03:08:35
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（单词翻译）
Kenyan Driving Schools Aim to Decrease Road Fatalities1
Like so many other teenagers around the world, 19-year-old Martin Otieno Jr. can’t wait to get his driver’s license2. He shows all the characteristics of a first-time driver - hands gripping the steering3 wheel, hawk-like observation of the road, and nervous questions for his instructor4.
“Driving in Nairobi is wild. But if you can drive in Nairobi, you can drive anywhere,” said Otieno.
Unlike his counterparts elsewhere, Otieno has to contend with unruly minibuses called “matatus,” in addition to
pedestrians6 and animals
darting7 in and out of traffic. There also are huge pot holes, unmarked speed bumps and
overloaded8 buses and trucks going at high speeds.
And according to David Njoroge, the Director General of the
Automobile9 Association of Kenya, accountability is lacking.
“Perhaps you’d also blame the enforcement, because there is a law. And where the law is properly observed, and the penalties are adequately given out, dished out, then people would have a second thought to go on breaking the laws,” said Njoroge.
In Kenya, it is not
uncommon10 to hear of people buying driver’s
licenses11 instead of investing in driving school. However, Njoroge said people are slowly seeing the value of going back to school.
“They come to recognize the fact that here, it is my life, although I have a license. So, it’s better for me to go back to proper driving instruction,” said Njoroge.
Value proposition
Otieno paid roughly $175 for a full driving course - a steep sum for a teenager.
“I’d rather get, you know, quality education, rather than just go to some cheap school in the neighborhood. It probably won’t have the right material, so cheap is expensive,” he said.
But while he’s concerned about his safety on the roads, there is another reason Otieno is excited to get his driver’s license.
“The first thing I want to do is take my dad’s car out. He’s always told me, don’t touch that car without your driving license, so that’s the first thing I’m going to do,” Otieno said.
It is the dream of teenagers everywhere.
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