It is common to spot schoolchildren being ferried on boda bodas to and from school on Ugandan roads especially in Kampala.
These, however, are always at risk of getting road accidents as the motorcycles squeeze their way through the heavy traffic and narrow roads of the city to get them to school in time.
According to the UN, road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death for children and young adults, while more than half of traffic deaths occur among pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists.
In Uganda, fatalities among passengers on motorcycles went up by 4.5 per cent in 2022, according to the Annual Crime Report by the Uganda Police. In the police 2021 annual crime and traffic road safety report, 1,390 boda boda riders and 512 passengers died in road crashes, meaning 158 people died every month and five died daily from boda boda crashes in Uganda.
In order to ensure the safety of schoolchildren while being taken to schools using motorcycles, Vivo Energy Uganda, the company that distributes and markets Shell-branded fuels and lubricants in Uganda has relaunched its school's road safety initiative dubbed the Heads Up campaign which donates and promotes the use of child-specific safety helmets for school-going children where over 1,000 helmets will be given out to learners in 50 schools around Kampala and neighboring areas.
The campaign was launched at Shimoni Demonstration Primary School in Kololo where the first batch of helmets was given out to learners in the presence of the state minister for primary education Dr Joyce Moriku Kaducu, officials from the ministry of Works and Transport, Uganda Police and Kampala Capital City Authority.
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According to Vivo Energy Uganda corporate communications manager, Valery Okecho, the behavioural change campaign seeks to highlight the plight of children using public motorcycle transportation, commonly referred to as 'boda-bodas', for their daily commute to school without appropriate safety helmets.
Winstone Katushabe, the commissioner, Transport Regulation and Safety in ministry of Works and Transport, said his ministry has already developed new road safety regulations where usage of standard helmets are one of the safety factors being looked at and they are working closely with UNBS to ensure that the helmets on the market and those being used by cyclists are up to standard.
Meanwhile, Rogers Kawuma Nsereko, the Kampala Metropolitan Police traffic commander, noted that since many people die when they would have survived the crash had they put on a helmet, this intervention will go a long way in reducing deaths by accidents.
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