- Over speeding and reckless driving are the trend during the festive season.
- Government urged to widen roads and enforce traffic laws adherence
Image: Courtesy
The Minister for ICT and National Guidance Chris Baryomunsi has called for responsible driving.
This is after a record of close to 50 people have been involved in road accidents in the past two weeks of the festive season alone.
“When I was in medical practice, around these days of Christmas is when you receive very many victims of accidents and gender-based violence in hospitals because people celebrate, they over drink and fight and so forth but notably there are many accidents, we would want to appeal to all Ugandans to drive and celebrate responsibly so that we all enter the new year when we are alive”, said Baryomunsi.
Traffic Police Spokesperson Faridah Nampiima says that many drivers are usually overzealous during the festive season, hence breaking traffic rules in light of the increased carnage.
The Civil Society Coalition on Transport in Uganda (CISCOT) this year told Members of Parliament that if the government does not address the issue of widening roads, the country will not achieve much in curbing road carnage.
The Executive Director CISCOT, Richard Baguma, who was interacting with the Committee of Physical Infrastructure blamed the majority of road crashes on narrow roads and called for commitment from the government to addressing the issue.
Baguma, together with his team were appearing before the committee to present their views on the status of road safety.
“If we are able to argue that we make road safety a national security issue, then we have the eye and ears of the President. The Physical Infrastructure committee can persuade him better. 3,600 people are dying every year, this is a massacre,” he said.
Image: Courtesy
Tororo District Woman MP, Hon. Sarah Opendi urged civil society to increase advocacy on improved designs of roads saying that the current designs are to blame for road accidents. “We need to talk about this issue until Uganda National Roads Authority deals with it. In developed countries, there are clear road separators. It is very unfortunate that we lose many people daily to road carnage,” said Opendi.
Maruzi North MP, Hon. Nelson Okello said that the committee is willing to support the request for additional funding for road safety on condition that part of it is channeled towards improving road designs. “If the issue of road designs is not addressed, we shall not reduce road accidents. If we had separations, we would avert some of these accidents,” said Okello.
Hon. Stella Atyang (NRM, Moroto District) challenged civil society to investigate the utilization of fees collected by the Inspectorate of Vehicles (IOV). “A lot of money is collected by the IOV but the question is on how this money helps in curbing accidents,” she said.
On Wednesday night, Nine people were confirmed dead following a fatal motor accident that occurred along the Masaka-Mbarara highway.
Richard Komaketch, the Greater Masaka Regional Traffic Police Commander blamed the accident to over speeding by the trailer driver who he said failed to control that truck after suffering one of the rear side tires burst.
Another accident at Kyoko, Masaka claimed over 10 passengers after a taxi, drone overturned and dived into the Kibuta swamp.
Earlier in the week, Serere County Member of Parliament, Hon. Patrick Okabe alongside his wife died in an accident that occurred on the Mbale-Tirinyi Road and was caused by a collision between a heavy truck and the vehicle carrying the deceased.