We need to pay more attention to road safety

What you need to know:

  • The issue: Road safety.
  • Our view: It is high time we campaigned for road safety like we did for HIV/Aids as President Museveni suggested when receiving the Road Safety Performance Review Report in March.

The catastrophe of road accidents has continued to overwhelm our society. The recent statistics released in the annual traffic and road safety report place the number of people killed in road accidents over the last year at 3,000, while those injured stand at 10,000. Pedestrians and motorcyclists make the bulk of the dead according to the report.

Another report, Ministry of Works and Transport Performance Report of 2016/17, indicated that on average almost 10 persons die on Ugandan roads on a daily basis. In 2016, on the Kampala- Masaka road, it was reported that 33 people on average lost their lives per month.

The high statistics are numerous. In March this year, while handing over the Road Safety Performance Review Report on Uganda to President Museveni, the United Nations secretary general’s special envoy for road safety, Mr Jean Todt, revealed that road crashes cost the government of Uganda Shs4.4 trillion ($1.2 billion) annually which translates to five per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

That recklessness and careless driving should bring an end to the lives of many Ugandans is a sad reality. Over the last year there have been deliberate efforts to curb road carnage, with police setting up the Fika Salaam campaign in 2016, among other interventions. Nation Media Group also started the #StayInYourLane campaign purposed to create road discipline. For months we published photos of errant drivers and urged the authorities to take action.

While interventions will always be created, it is high time Ugandans embraced safety on the road as pedestrians, motorists and cyclists. Clearly, awareness campaigns are a big necessity and need to be rolled out at all levels. The enthusiastic participation of readers in the #StayInYourLane campaign portrayed how much individuals are willing to take part in ensuring better road usage.

Other interventions by the police, Ministry of Works and Transport and other stakeholders need to heavily involve citizenry. It is largely going to be behavioural change that will make a difference. We must check ourselves and be our brother’s keeper.

The highest rates of accidents are reported in Kampala metropolitan, Bunyoro, Ankole and Greater Masaka. The leaders in these areas have a lot of work to do. Rather than seek way of passage amid heavy traffic or otherwise, Members of Parliament need to be thinking of ways to create order and discipline. Following the rules will get us all to our destinations safe.

Let us stop building the numbers and start being responsible on the road in our different capacities. It is high time we campaigned for road safety like we did for HIV/Aids as President Museveni suggested when receiving the Road Safety Performance Review Report in March.

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