Seven people died every day last month in road accidents, says Police
Police have revealed that 252 people died in road accidents in the month of September, translating into at least seven people per day.
“A total of 1470 accidents were registered in the month of September, 2021 and out of these, 229 people died on the roads and 1054 got injured,” said ASP Faridah Nampiima, the Traffic Police spokesperson.
Keep Reading
Nampiima explained that most of the accidents were caused by over speeding and reckless riding, especially by motorcycle riders including boda bodas.
She noted that whereas the speed limit for passenger vehicles in areas with buildings is 50km, 80km along the highways, many of these limits are not followed by drivers and this she said has contributed to major accidents, many of which have been fatal.
“When driving a small car on the road, you should not drive beyond 100km per hours, a PSV should be 80k per hours, and the same for trucks carrying goods. However, when people come to highways, they tend to sped because there is no jam , no vehicle but it is a mistake,” the Traffic Police spokesperson said.
“Section 120 of Traffic Act 2000 says every person found guilty of driving in excess of the speed limit commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not less than 15 currency points(shs300,000) and not exceeding 60 currency points which is shs1.2 million.”
The Traffic Police spokesperson also said that a person convicted can also be sentenced to between six months and two years’ imprisonment but noted that police usually prefers Express Penalty Tickets for offenders.
The 2020 annual police crime and road accident report indicated that there were 3663 road crashes in the country and that persons below the age of 35 years accounted for 53% of the fatalities.
In 2020, the reported deaths due to road crashes in Uganda were 3,663.
