Road safety advocates, Police trek 21km in boda safety awareness walk

KAMPALA - The Joe Walker Foundation, on Saturday (July 5) in liaison with Uganda Police Force, led a 21km bodaboda walk in Kampala, raising awareness on road safety among riders.

Road safety advocate Joseph Beyanga, also known as Joe Walker, said they engaged with boda riders, who he said brave the country's roads daily.

"Just last week in Kampala, bodaboda crashes accounted for 80% road crashes in Uganda, so that is what is happening. We have them, love them, take us around the city, but that recklessness should not cost anyone's life; that is why we have decided to engage them on this road safety awareness drive," said Beyanga.

According to Beyanga, they engaged boda riders inquiring if the rampant cause of accidents by them was education, enforcement or engineering.

During the trek, which several boda riders also participated in, several stopovers were made on different bodaboda stages in the city suburbs of Nakawa, Nankulabye, Nakasero, Ntinda and Kamwokya, among others, in which stakeholders engaged riders on road safety, encouraging them to value pedestrians' lives and be more cautious while on the road.

 "My word is not just a bodaboda rider, but to every road user, when you step on the road, it's a public good, think of other road users. The road has laws and rules that govern it. Please, make sure you follow each of the rules to the maximum, and be a responsible road user."

Traffic and Road Safety spokesperson Michael Kananura. (Credit: Douglas Mubiru)

Traffic and Road Safety spokesperson Michael Kananura said the walk was justifiable in that they needed to create awareness among riders after the 2024 Police report showed that majority of them were the most affected by fatal crashes in the country.

According to Police, road traffic crashes increased by 1,499 (6.4%) in 2024 compared to 2023.

The Uganda Police Force Annual Crime Report 2024 said the crashes increased from 23,608 in 2023 to 25,107 in 2024.

“Out of the total crashes reported to the Police, 4,434 were fatal, 13,134 serious and 7,539 minor. The number of reported fatal crashes also increased by 6.1%, from 4,179 in 2023 to 4,434 in 2024,” the report said.

The number of serious crashes increased by 5.2%, from 12,487 in 2023 to 13,134 in 2024, while that of minor crashes rose by 8.6%, from 6,942 in 2023 to 7,539 in 2024.
The highest number of crashes (2,445) was recorded in December, while the lowest was in April (1,863).

Fatalities

Regarding fatalities, the highest number (481) was recorded in August, while the lowest (365) was in April.

The report said collisions with pedestrians constituted 19.5% of all crashes while rear-end collisions and side swipes accounted for 16.2% and 17.7%, respectively.

Head-on collisions accounted for 13%, angle collisions 10.5% and 9% of all crashes were single vehicle crashes.

Collisions where vehicles hit other parked vehicles, hit objects on the road, hit objects off the road and hit animals accounted for 1.6%, 1.5%, 1.8% and 0.8%, respectively.

The report also said that more crashes were reported to have occurred during day time than the night time.

“A similar trend is also reflected in fatal crashes, where more fatal crashes are reported to have occurred during daytime,” it said.

The highest number of crashes in 2024 (3,780) occurred between 6:pm and 7:59pm. Similarly, fatal crashes (894) were also the highest during that time.

There were more crashes (3,790) reported on Sundays than on any other day of the week in 2024. In addition, 3,765 and 3,686 crashes were reported on Saturdays and Mondays. Fewer crashes (3,330) were reported on Tuesdays compared to the other days of the week.

“Careless overtaking and speeding were the leading causes of road crashes in the year 2024, accounting for close to almost half (44.5%) of all crashes,” the report said.