Lira | The 2023 Police Annual Crime Report has revealed that 4,806 people were killed in road crashes on Ugandan roads. This now puts the total number of people killed in five years to 21,042.
The report was released on Wednesday, February 21. The latest report indicates that there has been an increase in the number of people killed on Ugandan roads since 2019.
For example, the deaths in 2019 were 3,880; 3,663 in 2020 and 4,159 in 2021. There was an increase [4,534] in 2022 and then 4,806 were recorded last year.
This has been the same trend for the number of people injured in these crashes, report shows.
The number of people seriously injured in road crashes moved from 9,635 in 2019, 8,370 in 2020, 12,589 in 2021; 15,227 in 2022 and 16,736 in 2023.
The report further indicates that there was a 16 per cent increase in the number of crashes reported on Ugandan roads from 20,394 in 2022 to 23,608 in 2023.
Of the 23,608 crashes in 2023, 4,179 were fatal, 12,487 were serious and 6,942 were minor.
The new report also reveals that the greater Kampala metropolitan region including the districts of Kampala, Mukono and Wakiso recorded the highest number of road crashes at 9861, followed by Rwizi region in Western Uganda with 1,192 crashes.
West Nile with 950 cases, Albertine region with 813 crashes and Greater Masaka region with 782.
Crashes involved 37,449 vehicles, with motorcycles the most involved at 13,386, motorcars at 10,398 and 2,663 omnibuses. 2,131 crashes were registered in December while July recorded 2,099 crashes.
Also read: IGP Ochola to release annual crime report for 2023 on Wednesday
January recorded the least number of crashes in 2023 with 1,787 cases.
The report, however, shows that July had the highest number of crashes which involved people who died, at 457 whereas November had the lowest cases of fatalities at 332.
Further, the aspect of overspeeding caused the most crashes recorded at 6,297 while careless overtaking stood at 5,933 crashes and following too close to the vehicle in front at 1,211 crashes.
Other causes, according to findings are sudden entrance from the roadside, violating traffic direction, sudden turning, careless pedestrians, brake failure and driving under the influence of alcohol, among others.
The Traffic Police director, Lawrence Niwabiine said there has been a steady increase in the deaths on Ugandan roads.
According to him, the recorded crashes occurred between 6 pm to 8 pm. Similarly, deaths also occurred between 6 pm and 8 pm with the country losing mostly citizens below 35 years which is known to be the most productive age of our economy.
He also noted that the country continues to experience a rise in crashes and deaths as a result of reckless boda bodas with the most vulnerable road users being pedestrians, motorcyclists and pedal cyclists.
Niwabiine has urged all road users to be careful while going about their business.