Why there are so many accidents during festive season
Keep Reading
On average,
Uganda loses 10 people per day in road traffic crashes, which is the highest in
East Africa. Reports statistics have indicated that road crash fatalities in
Uganda rose from 2,579 to 3,503 in 2016, representing about 25.9%.
The number even
worsens during the festive season, as overly excited passengers do not care
what speed they are driven, so long as they reach their upcountry homes. Drivers
on the other hand are overwhelmed by number of travellers, and need to profit,
so would love to swing as many routes as impossible.
Therefore, In efforts to reduce increasing number
of road carnage associated with this festive season, Uganda Police Force in
partnership with Safe way Rightway have re-launched the speed management
campaign along major highways.
The campaign through implementation of holistic highway specific interventions informed by the Decade of Action for Road Safety Pillars aims at sensitizing and disciplining road users on safety, infrastructure protection and improving road safety for vulnerable users.
Barbara Mwanje, the Chief Executive Officer for Safeway Right Way confirmed that the company has donated donated laser speed guns to the Uganda Police Force and sophisticated road safety equipment, carried out traffic police training and sensitised speeding drivers apprehended along Kampala – Gulu highway.
“Our Baseline surveys identify
high accident locations (black spots) and suggest measures to mitigate some
avoidable accidents and enforcement of speed limits is a fundamental and quick
win solution to the many fatalities and injuries” Mwanje said.
Mwanje added that the campaign is most fit during the festive season as this is the time of the year when passengers tempt their drivers into speeding so as to get to their destination. “In the same vein, drivers rush in a bid to make more return journeys due to the number of people traveling upcountry.”
Although some road experts may attribute road carnage on most highways
in Uganda (Kampala-Masaka, Kampala-Gulu and Jinja-Kampala) as generally narrow
i.e. single-carriage, two way roads which makes overtaking risky and tricky for
drivers especially when a trailer or goods truck is on the road. We should not
ignore the fact that 80% of the causes are a result of human error.” Mwanje
added
Mabel Asingwire, Savannah Police Superintendent argued that; “Bodaboda
crashes account for the highest number of victims. People killed in motorcycle
accidents are between 2011 and 2016 doubled from 570 to 1,170. In 2015, over
5,543 riders were seriously injured.”
“Pedestrians remain the most vulnerable road users, constituting 40% of
the victims. In 2016, 1354 pedestrians lost their lives as they were knocked
down on their way to school, work, and market among other places,” Asingwire
added
The recent report indicates that on average, 9,000 people died in road
accidents in the last three years in Uganda. According to the Ministry of works
and transport report published in 2017, at least 10 people die in road
accidents everyday with bodaboda riders named as the leading causes and most of
them being head on collusion
