Road safety remains a collective responsibility, say Police ahead of remembrance walk

KAMPALA - Ahead of the Road Safety Walk scheduled for November 14th, the Uganda Police, through the Directorate of Traffic and Road Safety, has called on Ugandans to exercise collective responsibility to improve road safety.

Dubbed the ‘Joe Walker Remembrance Walk’, the Uganda Police Force has joined road activists in a road safety awareness walk aimed at sensitising the masses on road safety and remembering lives lost due to road crashes.

“We first and foremost appreciate the Joe Walker initiative, and the other partners that have joined him time and again to ensure that this occasion takes place at such a time and in such a season. We don't take this for granted, and this is what we have always talked about.

Road safety remains a collective responsibility; it is not something to leave to the Traffic Police alone, but every other person to come on board,” said Traffic Police spokesperson Superintendent of Police (SP) Michael Kananura.    

Kananura said they are seeing very risky behaviour on roads, including extreme speeding, and that such incidents are not isolated, insisting that it is the very reason why many crashes are happening, especially on weekends when traffic volumes and social activities increase.

Kananura made the remarks at Sheraton Kampala Hotel in Kampala on October 4th during a press conference where he represented the Director of Traffic and Road Safety, Lawrence Niwabiine, as he and other road activists briefed the media on the scheduled road safety remembrance walk.

He said they are seeing very risky behaviour on roads, including extreme speeding, and that such incidents are not isolated, insisting that it is the very reason why many crashes are happening, especially on weekends when traffic volumes and social activities increase.

“Looking into the statistics, road crashes are real, and driver behaviour remains the leading cause of road traffic crashes in Uganda. Careless overtaking and speeding together accounted for more than 40% of all crashes recorded in 2025,” said Kananura, cautioning motorists to maintain discipline while on the road.

He reminded Ugandans that last year a total of 26,044 road traffic crashes were reported compared to 25,107 crashes recorded in 2024, representing an increase of 3.7%. 

Fatal crashes also increased from 4,434 in 2024 to 4,602 in 2025, while serious and minor crashes increased by 3.3% and 4.5%, respectively. Although road crashes continue to increase, the trend over the past five years indicates that the rate of increase has gradually slowed.

In his remarks, road safety advocate Joseph Beyanga, alias Joe Walker of the Joe Walker Foundation, said that, as a foundation, they are raising awareness, bringing stakeholders together, joining hands and forging alternatives on what can be done to ensure safety on roads.

Last year a total of 26,044 road traffic crashes were reported compared to 25,107 crashes recorded in 2024, representing an increase of 3.7%. (New Vision/Files)

He revealed that more than 50% of people, particularly in Kampala, who have a daytime population of 4.6 million people, walk as their main means of transport.

“More than 50% of people in Kampala walk as their only affordable means of transport; that is what they can afford, that is what is available. The next category is the people using bodaboda, and that is 30%; then the next category is people who use taxis, and then the other 10% are in private cars.

So that is how people are moving in the city, but through all our journeys, wherever we have gone, in every corner of this country, we have literally walked there; when you observe our infrastructure, it doesn't correspond to the usage. Most of the roads in Kampala, the infrastructure does not support the way people walk,” remarked Beyanga

‘Enough is enough, let’s stop the madness on our roads’

“So, we can't continue blaming the government for this because it is not bodabodas or cars killing people; it is the riders or reckless drivers causing these fatalities. Let us not look at statistics; these are lives lost,” he advised.

Beyanga called upon Ugandans: on November 14th, join the remembrance walk, saying that, “We will take a moment to pause and remember whoever was killed in a road crash, and we won't stop at that; we will step out and make a powerful statement and say enough is enough. Let us stop the madness on our roads; let's make the road safe and ensure every journey brings you back home alive.”

He added, “We know what is killing us on the road. Police say it's mostly speeding and reckless driving, so let's stop saying someone has been killed by an accident; no, it's not an accident, it's preventable. Let's stop overspeeding; let’s drive carefully, make the pedestrian walkways safe, and ensure the road is clear ahead of you before you overtake.”