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Police postpone crackdown on errant drivers
Kira Road traffic police officers check for defaulters of Express Penalty Scheme on August 22, 2022. PHOTO | ABUBAKER LUBOWA
What you need to know:
- Mr Micheal Kananura, the spokesperson for traffic police, yesterday said the operation, which was targeting motorists without driving permits, expired driving permits, out-of-class permits, and riders without helmets has been rescheduled.
Police have postponed the operation to crack down on errant motorists countrywide. Mr Micheal Kananura, the spokesperson for traffic police, yesterday said the operation, which was targeting motorists without driving permits, expired driving permits, out-of-class permits, and riders without helmets has been rescheduled.
“We did not work as we planned because of morning weather when it rains, it disturbs the operation system but we are going to work on another day when it doesn’t rain,” he said.
In the mini-survey conducted by the Monitor within Kampala City police stations, the operation was rescheduled because of express penalty service Internet issues.
Mr Kananura said without a network, officers on the road cannot detect or issue any express penalty ticket. Mr Kananura said boda bodas had become a menace on the roads.
“Every time we have five crashes on the road, four of them involve motorcycles and many people die. As we launch the festive season operations we are to start with motorcycles,” he said.
The Express Penalty Scheme (EPS) was introduced under Section 165 of the Traffic and Road Safety Act, 1998, to manage minor traffic offenders.
The primary objective of the scheme was to deter road users from committing offences, by levying express penalties that would help to decongest courts. An EPS ticket has 25 codes for traffic offences, whose fines vary, depending on the offence committed.
The codes range from Shs20,000 to Shs200,000 which the offender has to pay or clear within 28 days. Payment for an EPS ticket automatically leads to the closure of the offence.
The annual police crime rate of 2022 indicated that 456,993 common traffic offences were registered which resulted in 3901 fatalities, 10,776 serious accidents and 5,717 minor accidents.
