Government to inspect all vehicles

Aug 02, 2008

ALL vehicles will be inspected to ascertain their road worthiness, transport state minister Simon Ejua announced on Thursday.

By Herbert Ssempogo

ALL vehicles will be inspected to ascertain their road worthiness, transport state minister Simon Ejua announced on Thursday.

Owners of vehicles found to be unfit for the road will be asked to repair them, while those that are irreparable will be written off.

The exercise, which will be conducted by the works ministry and the Police, is aimed at reducing road carnage.
According to Ejua, hundreds of people have lost their lives because vehicles are in dangerous mechanical conditions.

“It is important for road safety to be made a priority,” he said during a workshop on road safety at Imperial Royale Hotel in Kampala.
Ejua also attributed accidents to “human error.”

“Why should one speed on a road which is full of potholes? Why should one speed when getting to a sharp corner?” he asked.

Last year, a total of 2,334 people died in accidents compared to 2,171 in 2006.
Ejua said a curriculum for driving schools would be ready by the end of this year and a road safety policy to check the ever-increasing road carnage was in the offing.

The ministry, Ejua pledged, would facilitate the importation of reflective materials for motorcyclists.

The manager standards at Uganda National Bureau of Standards, Patrick Ssekitoleko, said the bureau’s plans to inspect items like tyres before they are imported into the country are underway.

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