Traffic Police move to reduce road carnage

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KAMPALA - The Uganda Police Force (UPF) Traffic and Road Safety Directorate has outlined 16 measures it will take to reduce road carnage.

This is after the latest UPF traffic performance report indicated that the number of reported fatalities in the country increased by 6%, from 4,534 in 2022 to 4,806 in 2023.

The directorate said it will carry out speed enforcement with a particular focus on black spots and built-up areas in order to protect vulnerable road users.

It has also promised to strengthen sensitisation of vulnerable road users on traffic laws and regulations as well as enhance enforcement of helmet use for the rider and the passenger.

The directorate will liaise with the works and transport ministry to ensure that they design and build infrastructure that protects vulnerable road users, especially pedestrians.

It also promised to carry out periodic inspections of motor vehicles to ensure that the vehicles are in good mechanical condition, increase modern enforcement equipment for effective operations and non-tax revenue collections, increase traffic fleet to improve response, and enhance motorized patrols in cities and along highways and increase ANPR cameras on highways to support enforcement.

Other measures it outlined include building capacity of the UPF in detecting and preventing driving under the influence of drugs; enhancing visibility, safety, and security along highways by equipping integrated highway Police; conducting additional training of traffic officers to build capacity to handle the ever-increasing road safety challenges, and enhancing road safety co-ordination and management through effective involvement of the public, private and civil society organisations.

Others are recruitment and deployment of more personnel to cover the existing gaps, acquire land country-wide enough for vehicle inspection and driver testing centres, establishment of traffic courts to expeditiously handle traffic cases, and finally establishing a traffic offender biometric system.

Global perspective

The UPF quoted the Global Status Report on Road Safety 2023, which said there were an estimated 1.19 million road traffic deaths in 2021, a 5% drop when compared to the 1.25 million deaths in 2010.

“Road traffic deaths and injuries remain a major global health and development challenge. As of 2019, road traffic crashes are the leading killer of children and youth aged 5 to 29 years and are the 12th leading cause of death when all ages are considered,” it said.

It also said two-thirds of deaths occur among people of working age (18– 59 years), causing huge health, social and economic harm throughout society. More than half of fatalities are among pedestrians, motorcyclists, and cyclists. 92% of deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries.

The African region has the highest fatality rate at 19 deaths per 100,000 population, and the European region has the lowest fatality rate at seven deaths per 100,000 population.

The fatality rate for Uganda was slightly lower than that of the African Region at 16 deaths per 100,000 population, it added.