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The Groups, and the Margin Each Calls For
Each group differs not in how much they matter but in what they can't do — and that decides which margin you owe.
| Group | What they can't do | The margin |
|---|---|---|
| Children (Children in Traffic) | Judge speed or distance; resist impulse | Lowest speed, expect the dart, never trust eye contact |
| Older people | Move quickly; sometimes hear or see you approaching | More time, no impatience, no startling horn |
| Persons with disabilities | See you (white cane, guide dog); move clear quickly | Maximum space and patience; assume no quick evasion; never block a crossing |
| Loaded pedestrians & roadside workers | Balance, see past the load, react quickly — and they're working in the road edge | More width, lower speed, treat as slower than an ordinary pedestrian |
| Two-wheelers (cyclists, boda riders) | Stay stable over potholes; be easily seen; survive impact | A full lane's width to pass, expect the pothole-swerve, check twice at junctions |
| Animals (herded livestock) | Behave predictably; stay off the carriageway | Slow right down, no horn (it scatters them), pass wide and gently |
Three of these are worth their own sentence, because drivers get them wrong in specific ways:
Persons with disabilities. A white cane or guide dog signals a pedestrian who navigates by sound and cannot see you — so your engine noise isn't the warning you assume it is, and a horn is more likely to startle than inform. Never block a crossing they may be about to use. For a wheelchair user or someone with limited mobility, the key assumption is that quick evasive movement isn't available to them: they cannot dart clear of your misjudgement.
Loaded pedestrians and roadside workers — the category generic lists miss, and a daily Kenyan reality. Someone carrying water, firewood or goods to market walks slower, balances awkwardly, sees less past their burden, and can't move quickly. Vendors, handcart pullers and roadside workers operate in the carriageway edge as their workplace. Treat them as slower and less able to react than an ordinary pedestrian, and give the width their unsteadiness may need.
Two-wheelers carry the protection gap at traffic speed — no cage, no crumple zone, moving as fast as the cars. They're destabilised by potholes and gusts, so a swerve that looks erratic is usually a surface reaction; they hide in blind spots; and a motorcycle closes faster than its small size suggests. Give them a full lane's worth of space when passing, expect the pothole-swerve, and check twice at junctions.
Key takeaways
- Each group is defined by what they can't do — see you, move fast, stay stable, react quickly — and that dictates which margin you owe: time, space, patience, or lower speed
- Two that drivers misjudge: a loaded or working pedestrian can't step clear of your mistake, and a two-wheeler carries zero protection at full traffic speed
Quick check
You approach someone carrying a large load of firewood along the road edge. Why treat them differently from an ordinary pedestrian, and what's the adjustment?