Uganda focuses on road safety

Apart from being a conveyor belt to urge the Government to promote road safety in Uganda, the motion will detail statistics by the Uganda Police Force revealing that a total of 1,497 accidents were registered in September this year alone and from these, 229 lives were lost and 1,054 people were injured. 

These accidents, according to the Police, are majorly caused by speeding and reckless driving.

Another driver of this motion is the launch of the global National Road Safety Week. 

This week is geared towards promoting road safety and saving lives, says the Ministry of Works and Transport. 

Accordingly, the Works and Transport minister, Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala, has ordered a review of speed limit governance while stating that speeding contributes 36 percent to road fatalities.

He called for the implementation of a 30km per hour speed limit when driving around public places. The current limit is 50km per hour.

Gen. Wamala issued the directive at Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) grounds in Kyambogo as he flagged off the National Road Safety Week, which will be set in motion until December 19.

The National Road Safety Week is themed, 'Safe Speed Saves Lives.'

As to the public places where this limit will be enforced, the new directive will take effect around cities and city councils, trading centres, schools and markets.

Gen Katumba told motorists to "plan [their] journeys early and drive at the appropriate speeds" during the festive period. 

UNRA, he said, is to re-mark traffic and road signs at known black spots, and told public transport operators to avoid overcharging travellers.

The minister also launched "Fika Salama extra" to curtail and control traffic on major highways. It shall be enforced by the Uganda Police Force, he said. 

"There should be no business of gamba n'ogu (talk to this one). It is time for everybody to conform to the set road regulations. We cannot continue recording 3,500 traffic deaths every year as if it is fun," he added.