Why would traffic police impound your car?

One would think that once their car is at a police station, then it is in the safest place it could ever be since there is maximum security from the law enforcers. But Ernesta Avako, a resident of Seguku, Katala, thinks otherwise following an ordeal that left her car with an empty fuel tank while at police.
Avako narrates that as she was driving on July 14 at around 6pm heading home just around Crane Bank, on Kampala Road, she was stopped by a traffic officer who accused her of careless driving.
The officer wanted to issue her with a ticket but he did not have tickets with him so he ordered Avako to drive her car, a Chevelrot 2004 model, to the Central Police Station (CPS) with him in the co-driver’s seat. After a lot of waiting for a receipt at the station, she was told to pick her car the following day. However, she did not sign for its stay.
She went back the following day at around 9:30am with her husband, Nelson Modi. However, they did not find the car where Avako had parked it. On inquiring, they were told it had been taken to Naguru, Police Inspectorate of Vehicles bond because cars were not kept at CPS.
After being issued with a ticket, they went to the bank to make the payment. And when they came back, they were told to first pay for the breakdown that had towed their car to Naguru. A police man explained to them that this was the procedure since police did not drive people’s cars.
The breakdown man only identified as Kato is the person who had towed their car to Naguru, so they paid him Shs50,000. No receipt was availed to prove this payment.
Before leaving Naguru, they inspected their car and found it in good condition. Nothing was tampered with per their observation. However, as they reached Lugogo, Jinja Road from Naguru, the car jerked yet the couple claim to have filled the fuel tank.
Modi notes that after fueling the car to full tank, he re -winded the mileage to zero because he wanted to monitor the car fuel consumption since they had just bought it. He added that by the time the car jerked, the mileage was 82.4 implying that their full tank only lasted three days. They had to refuel the car. Just like Avako, there are a number of reasons a car would be impounded and when parked at the police station, anything can happen to it.

Road safety challenges

• A road safety policy and strategy are not yet in place.
• Inadequate funding/manpower for road safety activities.
• The current lead agencies namely; National Road Safety Council and Transport Licensing Board are weak in terms of human resource and other logistics.
• Weak enforcement of existing laws and regulations.
• Resistance to enforcement of the laws and regulations mainly from pressure groups such as transport operators.
• Limited safety education as it has to be continuous and cover the entire country.
• Inadequate rescue services and victim care facilities.

Reasons for impounding cars

The director traffic road and safety, Steven Kasiima, explains that a vehicle can be impounded under various circumstances.
He says, “In case of an accident, all vehicles involved are impounded, drink-driving, poor mechanical condition and incompetent driving can force an officer to impound a vehicle.”
Kasiima further notes that “for a car to be impounded for careless driving, it is up to the officer to decide, depending on the careless driving extremities.”
Another officer at the Inspectorate of Vehicles, Naguru, Ronnie Kibalya, adds that even vehicles without Third Party Insurance can be impounded because it is mandatory due to unforeseen circumstances.
“All vehicles are required to have, among other verification documents, Third Party insurance, which guarantees that the vehicle is insured in case of an accident. But we also impound vehicles that have been involved in an accident,” Kibalya adds.

Procedure to retrieve vehicle

The director traffic road and safety, Steven Kasiima, explains that after a driver is found in the wrong, a traffic officer is obligated to serve the driver with a ticket indicating the offence done and the fine they are supposed to pay.
Kasiima says ticket payments are made to the bank within 38 days or else the driver will be charged for not paying the ticket. The person can also be taken to court, depending on the weight of the offence; all offences are not equal.
“For example, driving under the influence of alcohol would require the offender to be kept in police cells until they sober up.”
He adds; “For driving without a permit, it would require one to first process a driving permit then get back their car, or it would mean that the offender could get a person with a valid driving permit to drive the car from police after all payments are made.”
Kasiima further notes that “each offence has its own penalty and charges; however, an officer has the right to park a vehicle at the police station and put the person behind bars or issue them with a ticket.”
He further notes that the inspector of vehicles is supposed to inspect the impounded cars and register the car details.
In some instances, some drivers’ licences are confiscated or cancelled due to not following proper vehicle requirements.
“Vehicles in the Dangerous Mechanical Condition (DMC) category always face cancellation of a drivers’ licence because it is likely to cause accidents, which police are not ready to wait for, so it is better for them to be put off the road for peoples’ safety,” Kibalya explains.

Time frame

Owners of impounded vehicles have on many occasions lost either their cars or parts of the car due to ignorance of how long the police can retain their car.
And on most occasions, this arises because of accumulated traffic tickets meaning increased payments to be met and they cannot pay back in time for them to rescue their car.
“The impounded car can only stay impounded for six months and once the owner does not comply with what the police may have required of them, then the court gives police orders to auction the car,” Kasiima explains.
However, cars that may have been involved in accidents tend to be kept at the police station for a longer time. They are kept until the owners pick them up with proof of a log book or papers to prove ownership.
“Some cars spend years, especially those involved in accidents because people fear to take on the legal procedures involved before you get your car back,” Kibalya says. “However, to be on the safe side, Kasiima advises that the moment you are issued with a ticket, make sure you clear it within 38 days because even when the car is at police, anything can happen to it.”

Costs

Kasiima says every traffic offence has a different charge and all ticket payments are made to the Uganda Revenue Authority and not to police as most people think. He also adds that cars are never impounded at Central Police Station.
However, breakdown payments are on individual basis since it is a private business. It is therefore up to the breakdown operator to charge whatever price they want and it is up to the vehicle owner to pay in order for police to tow the car.

Fines charged

Shs100,000
Lack of a driving permit

Shs200,000
Drink-driving

Shs100,000
Careless driving

Shs60,000
Dangerous mechanical condition

Shs100,000
Driving in use of handsets

Shs70,000 Break down fee