Motorcycles must be sold with two helmets - Govt
Boda bodas carry passengers on 8th Street Industrial Area in Kampala recently. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
- The directive, Ministry of Works says, seeks to reinforce the Road Safety Regulations that require motorcyclists to have at least two helmets.
The Ministry of Works and Transport has directed that all motorcycle sales must include two standard helmets - one for the rider and the other for the passenger.
The decision was reached during a consultative meeting with motorcycle assembly companies, dealers, and financiers, which at the weekend, Works Permanent Secretary Waiswa Bageya, said seeks to reinforce the Road Safety Regulations that require motorcyclists to have two helmets but because of health reasons, enforcement has remained weak.
Last week the Ministry of Works shared on its social media sites about the directive, noting that this was a “landmark step in ensuring the safety of riders and passengers“.
“The provision of high-quality helmets will save lives and instill a safety culture among road users,” the Ministry said.
Under the new directive, no motorcycle, therefore, will leave the assembly plant without the two standard helmets specified under the Road Safety Regulations.
Mr Jemba Kanakulya, the Kampala City Traders Association spokesperson, said this was a step in the right direction, urging manufacturers and dealers to adhere and not to take advantage of Ugandans.
Motorcycle helmets cost between Shs30,000 and Shs100,000, while a new motorcycle unit costs between Shs4.5m and Shs5m.
However, Mr Kanakulya also urged government, as a measure to reduce the cost of boda boda accidents on victims, to consider subsidising comprehensive insurance for motorcycles, which could go a long way in protecting the lives of both riders and the passengers.
“For comprehensive insurance, we left it for people who have money and can afford. As government, we opted for Third Party, which is affordable at Shs20,000 for motorcycles” Mr Bageya said in response to the request.
The directive for new motorcycle sales to include two helmets follows a recent Traffic Police report that revealed grim statistics, in which six lives were lost daily between January and June due to boda boda accidents.
This, police said, was an increase from five daily deaths recorded last year.
Speaking at the launch of a new riding school, Watu Shule, which seeks to train boda boda riders on the essentials of a motorcycle operation, Mr Michael Kamoga, the Ministry of Works Road Safety Officer, said the directive on helmets was part of a broader effort to enhance safety under the Traffic and Road Safety Amendment Act of 2020.
The Ministry, he said, had also introduced the Motorcycle and Tricycle Regulation of 2023, which restricts riders from carrying more than one passenger.
“This measure is aimed at curbing overloading - a common cause of accidents in the boda boda sector - and ensuring the safety of both riders and passengers," Mr Kamoga said.
However, enforcement of traffic regulations continues to be difficult with more than 1.5 million boda bodas operating on Kampala roads.
Uganda Revenue Authority data indicates that the number of motorcycle imports has been growing, with an average of 166,745 entering the country annually.
Speaking at the Watu Shule launch, Mr Michael Kananura, the Uganda Traffic Police spokesman, said accidents have been rising due to many non-licensed riders finding their way into the boda boda sector, thus occasioning a huge cost burden on Ugandans and the government, as a whole.
Uganda’s road safety statistics remain alarming. In 2023 alone, 4,806 people lost their lives to road accidents, with a significant number of fatalities involving boda bodas.
The rising death toll has prompted both police and government to intensify efforts to improve road safety, particularly in the boda boda sector.
