The coaches are just a nightmare to travel in! Stop them, please!
Jun 03, 2004
SIR— Road accidents continue to claim many lives even though the authorities concerned have devised measures to reduce the (restricting the number of routes made by buses daily). It will however take more than that to curb reckless driving, a major cause of these accidents.
SIR— Road accidents continue to claim many lives even though the authorities concerned have devised measures to reduce the (restricting the number of routes made by buses daily). It will however take more than that to curb reckless driving, a major cause of these accidents.
I travelled aboard a Kalita bus bound for Kibaale from Kampala on Monday the May 17. The driver drove like a dog with rabies chasing its prey. It didn’t occur to him that the road (Kampala - Mityana) is a sorry state.
The bus swerved left and right as he raced through the “potholesâ€. It was only by the grace of God that we arrived alive because the bus almost overturned several times.
Like sheep being led to the slaughter all the passengers were quiet. I literally shouted for the conductor to hear my request to reduce speed as if I didn’t have the right to be driven properly. My pleas fell on deaf ears. To my amazement, some of the passengers applauded him and instead rebuked me.
I was damn struck by a young woman standing in the bus with a two-month-old baby complaining about the time she would reach if the speed were reduced. Most of the passengers were indifferent even with a number of close calls.
This was made worse by over loading. People were packed in the bus corridor like sheets of paper some were even sweating.
Another annoying thing is that the traffic Police did nothing about it after stopping the bus. The driver majestically walked out of the bus and ‘settled’ the issue with the Police.
It is high time stakeholders stopped being complacent. Traffic police should bring the offenders to book. Passengers should get involved by refusing over loading. What happened to the policy of caning the fourth passenger?
The Kalita management should discipline their drivers because this is not the only instance of reckless driving.
Susan Karungi
Kampala
I travelled aboard a Kalita bus bound for Kibaale from Kampala on Monday the May 17. The driver drove like a dog with rabies chasing its prey. It didn’t occur to him that the road (Kampala - Mityana) is a sorry state.
The bus swerved left and right as he raced through the “potholesâ€. It was only by the grace of God that we arrived alive because the bus almost overturned several times.
Like sheep being led to the slaughter all the passengers were quiet. I literally shouted for the conductor to hear my request to reduce speed as if I didn’t have the right to be driven properly. My pleas fell on deaf ears. To my amazement, some of the passengers applauded him and instead rebuked me.
I was damn struck by a young woman standing in the bus with a two-month-old baby complaining about the time she would reach if the speed were reduced. Most of the passengers were indifferent even with a number of close calls.
This was made worse by over loading. People were packed in the bus corridor like sheets of paper some were even sweating.
Another annoying thing is that the traffic Police did nothing about it after stopping the bus. The driver majestically walked out of the bus and ‘settled’ the issue with the Police.
It is high time stakeholders stopped being complacent. Traffic police should bring the offenders to book. Passengers should get involved by refusing over loading. What happened to the policy of caning the fourth passenger?
The Kalita management should discipline their drivers because this is not the only instance of reckless driving.
Susan Karungi
Kampala