roads

Ugandan roads continue to kill users 

(Last Updated On: 2 February 2022)

Police say buses found violating routes will be impounded and drivers arrested as Ugandan roads continue to kill.

By Aceng Patricia Amne & Milton Emmy Akwam

Lira – February 2022: Ugandan roads are yet to forgive users as crashes and fatalities are on the rise.

The month of February figures are shocking and Police have come out to issue cautions.

In a press release dated January 31 2022, ASP Nampiima Faridah, Public Relations Officer (PRO) at the Directorate of Traffic and Road Safety, January registered an increase in road crashes.

From January 24 to 30, a total of 383 road crashes were recorded; 57 were fatal, 213 were serious and 113 were minor.

There were 348 crash victims during this period and out of these, according to Nampiima, 65 people died and 283 sustained injuries.

“During this period total of 4,921 offenders were arrested and issued with EPS tickets on various traffic offences at various check points in the whole country from 24 January to 30 January 2022,” Nampiima revealed.

“Now that the economy is fully reopened and public transport has gone back normal, the bus operators must comply with the PSV regulations and pay PSV license, update their route charts and have valid third party insurance before they operate on the roads…”

In early January in Lira district, seven people died on spot and scores got injured after a fuso lorry transporting them back to Lira City from Ajuri market in Alebtong district overturned.

A day after, two more out of nineteen who were admitted at Lira Regional Referrals Hospital in critical conditions passed on.

That same week, from January 9, a total of eleven people died due to road crashes in Lango sub-region.

In July 2019, the then District Police Commander (DPC) of Lira, George Obia revealed that Lira Central Police Station was registering at least two cases of death due to  a road crash.

He blamed the calamity on poor road designs, abuse of traffic rules and inadequate knowledge on road safety precautions.

In an interview with the Regional Traffic Officer of North Kyoga Region, ASP Mathias Lumumba Okwir, he said the increasing crashes in Lira City are due to the nature of the roads with squeezed streets and a two-sided gazzetted parking lot on roads.

According to the Police Annual Crime Report 2020, 3,600 people died of road crashes in Uganda. The East African country continues to lead in the region, with at least 10 deaths per day.

In 2021, the Police preliminary reports show that nationwide 229 died in the month of September and over 900 got injured.

In Uganda, speeding contributes to 36 percent of all fatalities due to road crashes, and in Africa, speeding is a major factor of crashes at 50 percent.

Uganda joined the rest of the world in 2021 to mark the 6th UN Global Road Safety Week under the theme, “Street for Life. #Love30.”

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