Deal with the issues causing road accidents
When you are driving, you should be doing just that and nothing else. In case of an accident, do not touch or move the seriously wounded victims unless there is a risk of fire or toxic fumes. FILE PHOTO
What you need to know:
- The issue: Road accidents.
- Our view: We need to deal with the key issues causing accidents on the roads. These include reckless driving, speeding, driving cars in dangerous mechanical conditions, and most importantly, inadequate enforcement of traffic laws.
A dawn accident at Kaihura Trading Centre on Fort Portal-Kyenjojo Road, Kyenjojo District, this week left at least 10 people dead and several others injured. The accident occurred after a bus belonging to Pokopoko company heading to Kasese District from Kampala collided head-on with a taxi coming from Fort Portal side.
Mr Charles Baguma, the officer-in-charge of Kaihura Police Post, told this publication that at the time of the incident, a trailer and a truck that had mechanical issues were parked on the left lane of Fort Portal Road.
This comes on the heels of the August 11 to 17 week that claimed 76 lives in several accidents around the country. According to statistics from the Traffic and Road Safety Directorate of the police, overtaking at unsafe spots accounted for 31 percent of the deaths while speeding was the second leading cause, contributing to 25 percent of the fatalities.
In July last year, Parliament came up with a raft of measures to reduce carnage on the roads. It came just days after businessman Apollo Nyegamehe, aka Aponye, died in a car crash on the Kabale-Mbarara Highway on his way to Rukiga District. His car rammed into a stationary truck that was parked on the roadside without any warning signs.
It was the latest in car accidents that had been attributed to stationary vehicles on highways. Earlier last year, at least 19 people died and 21 others were injured after a bus rammed into a stationary trailer at Adebe Trading Centre on the Kampala-Gulu Highway.
Among the resolutions that the Parliament meeting, attended by officials from Ministry of Works, Uganda National Roads Authority (Unra), police and the Health ministry, came up with was that the Road Act, 2019, be quickly revised to include regulations to put into practice Sections 57, 58 and 59 of the law providing for the towing and auctioning of vehicles that are abandoned on highways.
But as was witnessed at the Kaihura accident, stationary cars on highways are still a problem in Uganda. According to the 2023 annual crime report, a total of 23,608 road crashes were recorded by traffic police, with 4,179 categorised as fatal.
The causes of most accidents in Uganda are well-known and have been documented over time. Laws have been made to deal with the same, but statistics show that the numbers keep going up.
We need to deal with the key issues causing accidents on the roads. These include reckless driving, speeding, driving cars in dangerous mechanical conditions, and most importantly, inadequate enforcement of traffic laws.
Unless these are dealt with decisively, we will continue lamenting the cost of road accidents in Uganda.
