Express tickets to threaten licence renewal

The Commissioner for Transport, Regulation and Safety, at the Ministry of Works and Transport, has said motorists who have unpaid express penalty scheme (EPS) tickets will not be allowed to renew their driving licences effective July 1. 

Mr Winstone Katushabe made the remarks during a validation workshop for development of the National Road Safety Action plan at Nsambya in Kampala. 

“Every driver found driving recklessly or playing on the road will pay for it…once arraigned before courts of law and you’re found guilty, we shall do it [refuse to renew licence] because motorists deliberately commit traffic offences that lead to loss of lives,” Mr Katushabe said.

The National Road Safety Action Plan is intended to develop, implement and evaluate actions that will systematically improve the safety of road transport systems in the country over the next five years. 

The plan sets out to contribute to the reduction of the number of fatalities and injuries by 50 percent by 2030.

The plan also seeks to implement the February 2020 Stockholm Declaration that calls for, among others, a speed limit of 30km/hour on mixed road-use—especially in school zones, urban and built-up areas, and the broad implementation of the safe systems principles such as safer roads and safer vehicles. Uganda is a signatory to the declaration. 

Since the start of 2022, the number of people dying in road crashes has increased from 10 to 12 people per day. 

Human error is the major contributing factor.

According to the Uganda Police Annual Crime Report 2021, there was a 42 percent increment in the number of road crashes reported, from 12,249 in 2020 to 17,443 in 2021. The report adds that the number of fatal crashes increased by 15 percent to 3,757 in 2021 from 3,269 in 2020, with the months of December, October and November registering the highest numbers.

Meanwhile, President Museveni yesterday directed the prime minister to formulate a policy forcing car owners to put speed governors in their vehicles at their cost in order to prevent road carnages.

“The policy should be detailed…ensuring that people drive carefully, and they do not kill themselves and in the process give us all that big burden of looking after people who are careless about their lives,” he said.

Mr Museveni made the remarks after launching 12 marine ambulances at Special Force Command Marine base headquarters in Entebbe.

“The ambulances are to provide emergency medical response assistance and services to island areas in a move geared towards improving the status of health care services of the population of island areas,” Mr Museveni said.