By Barbara Among

Accidents cost the Government sh560b annually, the Ministry of transport has said.

“Road accidents are a cost to the economy in terms of income lost, treatment cost, vehicle, property damage and social disorder,” said state minister for transport, Simon Ejua.

Ejua said the road carnage is killing almost as many people as AIDS.

Last year, there were 20,522 accidents and 2,059 people died. This implies that half that half of the vehicles in Uganda were involved in accidents.

With 20,522 accidents yearly in the last five years, which lead to more than 2,059 deaths, Uganda ranks second in road fatality rates in the world behind Ethiopia.

Ejua, however said the vehicle accident ratio is reducing while the aggregate number is increasing. “Despite the increase number of vehicle on the road, accidents have not increases proportionally. This means that the control measures are of effect,” he said.

According to the Police, the highest numbers of accidents occur around holiday time such as Easter and Christmas, when holidaymakers travel upcountry to celebrate the season.

In the last weeks, accidents were a result of speeding, over-taking and poor conditions of vehicles.

Statistics released by the ministry show that human errors contributed 80% of accidents, 10 % is attributed to defective vehicle conditions, 5%to environmental factor and 5% to poor road conditions.

Ejua said the government had come up with a number of measures to avert the accidents. These include inspection and licensing by the transport licensing board at its headquarters in Kampala and it regional office in Mbale, Fort Portal and Mbarara.

The Government will also embark on mass sensitisation of the public on road safety and increase enforcement of traffic laws by the police.