Govt issues road safety guidelines ahead of festive season
Motorists struggling to maneuver to drive through the deep potholes along Jinja-Kampala highway in Mabira forest. PHOTO/DENIS EDEMA
What you need to know:
- Motorcycle riders have been directed to wear and fasten standard helmets, have a reflector jacket, carry one passenger, and not to overload.
The Ministry of Works and Transport, through the Directorate of Traffic and Road Safety, has issued early road safety guidelines to motorists and other road users as the country heads to the festive season.
These guidelines are intended to limit the number of road crashes.
Among them, motorists have been advised to plan their journeys and have enough time, avoid drunk driving, and avoiding speeding, among others.
Additionally, all motorists have been advised to make use of seat belts and avoid driving through flooded road sections.
Motorists have also been directed to avoid talking on phone or texting and other forms of distractions while driving and avoid overloading vehicles in addition to moving with original driving licences.
The government has also instructed local leaders in island areas not to allow people to use any kind of vessel, especially boats, across waters during the night. This is in addition to those using boats during the day to put on life jackets and to avoid overloading of vessels.
In an interview with this newspaper last week, the traffic police spokesperson, Mr Michael Kananura, said: “Failure to comply with the requirement, constitutes an offence, punishable by imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years upon conviction as stipulated in section 42(2) of the traffic and road safety Act.’’
All traffic police have been directed to step up enforcement across the country through the festive season.
Last Friday, traffic police mounted a checkpoint in Luweero District on the Kampala- Gulu highway, where more than 10 drivers were arrested for not having valid badges as directed by the government.
According to the Director, Traffic and Road Safety, AIGP Lawrence Nuwabine, the Force has started to realign their operation orders so that they strictly implement and enforce the directives issued by government during this festive season
He also asked the traffic police across the country to arrest and take the traffic offenders to courts of law .
Last Friday, the Minister of Works and Transport, Gen Katumba Wamala, said 60 people lost their lives between December 23, 2023 to January 1.
He added that even this year’s figures for the last nine months are worrying.
“The reported figures for this year January to September, 3,790 lives were lost and more than 12,430 in serious injuries as a result of road traffic crashes,” he said.
Gen Katumba also said during this period of the nine months motorcyclists and pedestrians contributed 64 percent of the total road traffic crash fatalities.
Return journeys
All buses whose journeys are beyond 300km shall not have return journeys within 24 hours, only those with valid route chats and valid PSV licences shall be allowed to operate.
Like last season, no school bus or any private bus not authorised by the Ministry of Works and Transport shall be allowed to carry passengers. All buses are required to possess valid driving licenses and driver badges at all times and a photo of the driver displayed within the bus.
On December 3, the directorate of traffic and road safety gave an ultimatum of December 4 for all bus drivers to possess their badges.
The badges are issued by the chief licensing officer, Ministry of Works and Transport, as stipulated in section 42(1) (e) of the Traffic and Road Safety Act (CAP.347).
What UBOA says
The chairperson of Uganda Bus Owners Association (UBOA), Mr Solomon Nsiimire, said engagements with the line ministry are ongoing as they seek an extension of the period for the bus drivers to acquire badges.
In an interview with the Monitor, Mr Nsiimire said by close of business last Friday, only 363 bus drivers had acquired the badges out of a total of 800 to 900 bus drivers.
“It is true they have started enforcing the badge issue, unfortunately not all our drivers have been issued with badges,” he said.
“As UBOA leadership, we are engaging the Ministry of Works and Transport and requesting for an extension of time,” he added.
Police report
According to the Uganda Police Traffic Report 2023, a total of 23,608 road crashes were recorded with December recording the highest number of 2,131. The same report indicated that speeding contributed 52 percent of the crashes.
