Traffic police, motorists should be more strict to end road carnage

Since excitements and accidents are cousins, traffic officers should strictly enforce traffic rules and regulations. On the other hand, motorists must observe traffic rules. FILE PHOTO

What you need to know:

  • I was, therefore, not surprised when a headline in the Daily Monitor of October 29, 2018 (front page) read: ‘Three Singo County FC fans die in accident.’ It could have been worse.
  • Since excitements and accidents are cousins, traffic officers should strictly enforce traffic rules and regulations. On the other hand, motorists must observe traffic rules.

Last Saturday, we were driving from Kampala to Mbarara when we met very many lorries, Omni buses, and private cars all dangerously overloaded with fans going to Namboole stadium to watch for the Masaza Cup final tournament between Singo and Buddu. The fans were in a state of frenzy. What I saw was extremely shocking.

Some mini-buses were carrying fans on the luggage carriage. Some lorries carried fans clutching on the side rails. Ironically, they were passing through traffic police check points. Interestingly, the traffic police have at times booked drivers for not fastening seat belts, or over lack of 3rd Party Insurance.

As a concerned citizen, I took a picture of one of the lorries as it sped past us after Lukaya Town - the stretch that is notorious for road accidents. At one traffic police check point, I stopped and shared this picture with the officers. One of them was co-operative and quick enough to apologise, but also hastily added that “the situation will even be worse when coming back from Kampala.”

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I started wondering as to at what point a civilian is allowed to arrest a policeman (with due respect, of course).
When I shared this picture on a number of educative WhatsApp groups, a member (possibly with tongue-in-cheek) commented that since the Kabaka would officiate at the finals, the traffic officers couldn’t do much.

Another one commented that the good Kabaka delights in seeing his subjects alive. Another one responded that the Mengo establishment has always condemned flouting of traffic rules and regulation in the name of promoting culture and games and, therefore, the respectable king [Kabaka] cannot be party to this misnomer. I want to believe this one.

I was, therefore, not surprised when a headline in the Daily Monitor of October 29, 2018 (front page) read: ‘Three Singo County FC fans die in accident.’ It could have been worse.
Since excitements and accidents are cousins, traffic officers should strictly enforce traffic rules and regulations. On the other hand, motorists must observe traffic rules.

Jimmy Turyagyenda,
[email protected]

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