J. Namutebi, C. Musoke and J.Odyek
5 March 2008
Kampala — UGANDA has the highest number of people dying in road accidents in the Great Lakes region, Parliament heard yesterday.
"Whereas the road carnage situation is appalling in most sub-Saharan countries, Uganda is rated the worst among countries in the region," said Nathan Byanyima (NRM), the chairman of the committee on physical infrastructure.
"There is need for urgent Government intervention to address the situation."
Statistics from the Police show that the deaths rose from 778 in 1990 to 2017 in 2004 while road accidents rose to 18,092 in 2006 from 5,674 in 1990 and are bound to increase if unchecked, according to a special report of the committee.
But the figures for the other countries in the region were not given.
Kampala and Wakiso lead in fatal accidents, with 12 to 20 deaths recorded weekly along Entebbe Road particularly at Kattambwa, Mildmay Centre and Kawuku, Byanyima said.
He attributed the accidents to reckless driving, speeding, careless pedestrians, overloading and disregard of seat belts.
Others are motorists using mobile telephones while driving, poor road signs and poor mechanical conditions of the vehicles.
The report adopted by Parliament noted that the country loses sh333b annually due to the accidents.
Undue influence and political interference, Byanyima noted, had obstructed the traffic Police from ensuring road safety for all users.
But the MPs asked the Bukanga legislator to name the people who had stopped the Police from implementing the regulations on speed governors as he had stated. He did not give any names.
The suspension of sections 108 to 111 of the Traffic and Road Safety Act 1998, which deal with fines for reckless driving, had created a vacuum in the law, according to Byanyima.
"The Government wants to formulate policy regulations to improve road safety but major stakeholders like the Uganda Taxi Operators and Drivers Association and motorists have de-campaigned the proposesd regulations," he said.
The traffic Police, he added, should be empowered to de-register vehicles in dangerous mechanical condition and the courts mandated to cancel licenses of bad drivers.
The committee gave 21 recommendations including the need for a law requiring all motorists to be subjected to compulsory tests before they are issued with driving permits or before the permits are renewed.
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