The Model Town Board is a small town drawn on a table, with a toy car you move along its roads. The rules are the rules of the road, shrunk to fit. These are the ones NTSA's learner handbook gives for the board.
- 1Dual carriageway, four lanes each way
- 2Central reserve, with a gap for U-turns
- 3Roundabout, four lanes round the island
- 4Three-lane road with a yellow centre line
- 5Controlled parking zone, with angle bays
- 6Street joining the two bigger roads
- 7Two-way road
- 8Pedestrian crossing
- 9Flush parking at the kerb
The three route rules
The examiner names a place to go. There is usually more than one way to get there, and the handbook gives three rules for choosing:
- Take the shortest correct route, avoiding the parking area.
- If a continuous line blocks the short way from your lane, take the longest correct route, still avoiding the parking area.
- Use the parking area only as a last resort.
"Correct" is the word that matters. A short route that breaks a rule, such as crossing a continuous line or going the wrong way down a one-way road, is not a correct route at all.
Rule 2 is the one learners miss. Say you are in lane 2, the lines beside you are already continuous, and you are asked to turn left. Lane 2 only goes straight and you may not change lanes, so the short way is blocked. You go straight, turn back, and come round to the road you were asked for. That is the longest correct route.
You can try all three rules on the Model Town Board simulator, where the routes unit gives you a place to reach and stops you if you break a rule on the way. If you break no rule you can drive on wherever you like, but only the route you were asked for is a pass.
Keep left, and know your lane number
You drive on the left in Kenya. Lanes are numbered from the kerb inwards, so lane 1 is beside the kerb and the highest number is beside the middle of the road.
Continuous lines and broken lines
- A broken white line between lanes means you may change lanes or overtake if the road is clear. Check your mirrors and signal for 3 seconds before you move.
- A continuous white line means you may not. On the board the lines turn continuous close to the roundabout, so choose your lane before you reach them.
- A continuous yellow line down the middle of a two-way road means stay on your side of it. No overtaking.
- A broken yellow line down the middle means you may overtake, or turn across it, if the road is clear.
The roundabout
Give way to traffic already on the roundabout, which comes from your right. Go round clockwise, in the lane you chose, and leave in that lane. The handbook lists five things you must not do on it: stop, change lanes, park, overtake or wait. Only the innermost lane may go all the way round. The lane options are taught as two codes: 2124 for the four-lane road and 215 for the three-lane road. Which lane for which turn has the full table.
Kerbs and the central reserve
The handbook lists the yellow kerb among the board's features. Treat it as the edge of the road and keep the car off it. A yellow kerb means no stopping, parking or waiting beside it. The central reserve keeps the two directions of a dual carriageway apart. A gap in it is where a car can turn back or leave the main road. Be in the lane beside the reserve first, and give way to traffic on the side you are joining.
Stop, give way and crossings
- At a Stop sign you stop, even with no line on the road and nothing coming. Look right, left, then right again, and go when the road is clear.
- At a Give way sign, slow down, or stop if you need to. Traffic on the major road goes first.
- At a pedestrian crossing, slow down and be ready to stop before it. Never stop, park or wait on the crossing itself.
Obey every sign on your route, in order. You can learn all 83 of them on the Pelican chart or with 3D signs.
Parking
The board has angle parking and flush parking, and the route rules tell you to keep out of the parking area unless there is no other way. Angle parking is for small cars: take the farthest free bay, drive in forwards and reverse out. Flush parking takes any vehicle except a trailer or a tractor: take the farthest free box, reverse in and drive out forwards. Parking on the Model Town Board covers both.
What to ask your driving school
Boards are not all the same, and the handbook does not cover everything. Ask your instructor:
- to show you the board you will be tested on, and practise on it with you
- whether lane 4 must go once right round the roundabout before it leaves straight on
- which lane the middle lane of the three-lane road may turn from at a junction
- whether your test centre still follows the 2016 handbook
More on the Model Town Board
- The Model Town Board levelsThe board, the lanes and the rules first. Then you drive.
- Model Town Board diagram, labelledEvery road, lane, line and bay on the board, named.
- Model Town Board lane options: 2124 and 2152124 and 215: which lane may take which turn.
- Model Town Board questions and answers (60+)Lanes, the roundabout, routes and parking, each with its rule.
- Model Town Board roundabout rulesClockwise, no stopping or changing lanes, and leaving right.
- Model Town Board parking: angle and flushAngle and flush parking, and when to use the parking area.
Sources
- Kenya Learner Driver Handbook, compiled by NTSA, 2016, Unit 3: Model Town. We could not find it on NTSA's own site, so this copy is hosted by a driving school. Ask your school whether your test centre still follows it.
- Design Manual for Roads and Bridges, Part 5a: Road Signs, Ministry of Roads, for the Stop and Give way signs.