As Uganda approaches the festive season, transport stakeholders have launched a road safety campaign aimed at reducing preventable crashes, injuries, deaths and losses in the transport sector.
The initiative, dubbed Smart Journey, is being implemented under the theme, “Connecting to reducing preventable crashes, injuries, death and transport losses through safer people, safer vehicles and stronger risk management.”
The campaign has received support from the Ministry of Works and Transport, which described the initiative as timely, especially as passenger numbers and movement across the country are expected to increase during the festive season.
The ministry also commended the partners behind the programme, including Liberty General Insurance, for developing an initiative focused on improving safety in the transport sector.
Apollo Kanshanku, the Assistant Commissioner in charge of Transport and Regulation at the Ministry of Works and Transport, said the programme is particularly targeting road crashes involving buses.
He warned bus drivers and other motorists against reckless driving and urged them to stop blaming accidents solely on the condition or design of roads.
“We might somehow agree that there are some roads which are narrow and in poor state, but even as government we have put up better roads. For instance, we have the Express Highway, but still we experience many cases of road accidents,” Kanshanku said.
He urged drivers to exercise discipline, obey traffic rules and take responsibility for their conduct on the roads.
Kanshanku also encouraged bus owners and operators to embrace insurance, saying it could help them manage the financial risks associated with accidents and other challenges in the transport business.
Raphael Bisaso, the Head of Business Distribution and Marketing at Liberty General Insurance, said the Smart Journey programme brings together different partners to address the risks faced by public transport operators.
He said the programme will include training drivers in defensive driving and promoting the use of technology to monitor drivers and identify signs of fatigue or poor driving conditions.
“The project involves training drivers on defensive driving and even having access to devices that can detect whether a driver is tired or not in good condition,” Bisaso said.
He said the initiative will also encourage people in the transport sector to understand the importance of insurance because of the high level of risk involved in operating commercial vehicles.
“We are also targeting the transport sector by encouraging them about the importance of having insurance, given that the sector has many risks,” he said.
The campaign comes amid continued concern over the number of people killed and injured in road crashes in Uganda.
According to the traffic statistics cited at the launch, about 15 people die every day as a result of road crashes in Uganda.
The initiative also brings together the United Bus Owners Association, which called for greater government support for the bus industry.
Brian Kwezira, representing the United Bus Owners Association, said the government should give greater attention to the contribution made by bus operators to the economy.
He said bus operators contribute significantly to government revenue but continue to face challenges, including poor road conditions and what he described as heavy penalties following crashes involving buses.
Kwezira called for greater cooperation between government and bus operators to address the challenges facing the industry and improve safety.
He said improving the relationship between government and transport operators would help create a safer and more sustainable public transport sector.
