UNRA moves to enforce safety on Entebbe expressway

Entebbe expressway has of late turned into a death trap registering at least one accident per day and two fatalities a month. The latest victim is Pius Kamugisha, the co-director of Galaxy FM who died on October 22.

Road and transportation experts attribute the accidents to over speeding and indiscipline on the road. The legal speed limit is 100km per hour.

But while the road has four lanes and is in good condition, some drivers are ignorant on what lane to use depending on the speed. The inside lane on the right is usually the fast lane but you will find cars moving at less than 40km per hour.

Allan Ssempebwa, the spokesperson of the Uganda National Roads Authority said that the indiscipline at individual level remain high, given that many violate the 100 km per hour speed limit.

"People tend to increase their speed since there is no one who monitors their movement and tend to over speed," Ssempebwa said.

He told NilePost that negotiations are underway to erect road signage along the road in different local languages to help drivers easily read and interpret the road signs.

Police however attributed the rampant accidents to limitations faced by traffic police officers in patrolling and policing the driving mannerism on this road.

The 2021 Police Annual Crime Report says there was a 42 percent increase in the number of road crashes from 12,249 in 2020 to 17,443 in 2021. More than 3000 crashes were fatal, and 4,616 survived with minor injuries