Inside govt plan stop road carnage
Residents gather at the scene of the accident along Manafwa-Mbale road on Tuesday night. PHOTO | POLICE PRESS
What you need to know:
- The minister said they have commenced the registration and certification of all garages across the country to counter vehicles in dangerous mechanical conditions that usually break down on highways, resulting in deadly crashes
The Ministry of Works of Transport has issued a comprehensive plan that it says will stop the rampant road crashes in the country.
Yesterday, State Minister for Transport Fred Byamukama issued the five-point plan that includes regulating the process of acquiring driving permits, checking the condition of vehicles and punishing errant drivers. Others are repairing roads and removing sections that are considered blackspots.
The minister said they have commenced the registration and certification of all garages across the country to counter vehicles in dangerous mechanical conditions that usually break down on highways, resulting in deadly crashes.
“You find everyone who comes from the villages comes and sets up a garage. Some of these are substandard garages that do poor repairs on vehicles, ending up crashing or failing to move on the roads,” Mr Byamukama said.
According to the minister, all applicants for driving permits will undergo online examinations to assess their understanding of road use and signage from Naguru, Kampala, before they are approved.
“People are going on the roads when they are not supposed to. So far, we have streamlined approvals of permit applications, every applicant will undergo online examinations supervised by our team, and once you fail three times, the application is terminated and you start over again,” he said.
Daily Monitor has established that the Works ministry recently acquired Shs5b to carry out mass sensitisation across the country on road safety.
In July, this newspaper reported that the Cabinet pointed out that the major causes of road crashes are human factors which can be averted if the government steps up the enforcement, effectively coordinating all road safety efforts and strengthening the traffic and road safety legislations.
Road traffic crashes are mainly caused by drink-driving, speeding and distracted driving through the use of phones, eating and drinking, among others.
Meanwhile, in June, President Museveni signed into law the Traffic and Road Safety Amendment Bill, 2023, increasing the fine from Shs200,000 to Shs2m for motorists driving beyond the prescribed speed limit.
Trend
According to the 2022 Annual Crime and Traffic/Road Safety Report, 20,394 road crashes were recorded countrywide. Of these, 1,579 pedestrians died, translating into four pedestrians dying every day in road crashes and 131 dying every month.
