Passengers arrest drunk bus driver
May 10, 2010
ABOUT 62 passengers aboard a Pioneer City Bus on Monday morning called the Police after realising that the driver was drunk and was driving carelessly through the city.
By Eddie Ssejjoba
ABOUT 62 passengers aboard a Pioneer City Bus on Monday morning called the Police after realising that the driver was drunk and was driving carelessly through the city.
The driver allegedly failed to stop at the Jinja Road traffic lights and other stages.
Norman Musinga, the officer in charge of traffic at the Central Police Station, on Monday told journalists that the Police received calls for intervention from passengers in one of the city buses, registration number UAJ 516N.
Musinga said the Police intercepted the Mukono-bound bus at the Constitutional Square. Upon arrest, the driver behaved in a strange manner and failed to speak rationally.
According to Musinga, the driver also refused to accept a breathalyser to test his alcohol level on spot.
He later accepted the test and was found to have 0.67miligrams of alcohol in his blood, which the Police described as ‘being totally’ drunk.
“Anyone who tests above 0.35mg is drunk and is not allowed to touch a steering wheel but this one almost doubled the maximum limit of the acceptable content,†Musinga said.
Citing the Traffic and Road Safety Act of 1998, the Kampala Metropolitan deputy Police spokesperson, Henry Kalulu, said it is an offence to drive while drunk.
He said Tumwesigye would join 65 other drivers who were arrested over the weekend and were facing charges of reckless driving and drink-driving.
The drivers were arrested from various spots in the city. They are to appear in court.
“Some of these drivers had become a danger to themselves and other road users because some were too drunk to even blow into the breathalyser tube,†Kalulu explained.
He said the Police were cracking down drunk drivers, especially at night and during morning hours.
“We have to protect people’s lives from such reckless people. We shall continue carrying out similar operations,†Kalulu said.
ABOUT 62 passengers aboard a Pioneer City Bus on Monday morning called the Police after realising that the driver was drunk and was driving carelessly through the city.
The driver allegedly failed to stop at the Jinja Road traffic lights and other stages.
Norman Musinga, the officer in charge of traffic at the Central Police Station, on Monday told journalists that the Police received calls for intervention from passengers in one of the city buses, registration number UAJ 516N.
Musinga said the Police intercepted the Mukono-bound bus at the Constitutional Square. Upon arrest, the driver behaved in a strange manner and failed to speak rationally.
According to Musinga, the driver also refused to accept a breathalyser to test his alcohol level on spot.
He later accepted the test and was found to have 0.67miligrams of alcohol in his blood, which the Police described as ‘being totally’ drunk.
“Anyone who tests above 0.35mg is drunk and is not allowed to touch a steering wheel but this one almost doubled the maximum limit of the acceptable content,†Musinga said.
Citing the Traffic and Road Safety Act of 1998, the Kampala Metropolitan deputy Police spokesperson, Henry Kalulu, said it is an offence to drive while drunk.
He said Tumwesigye would join 65 other drivers who were arrested over the weekend and were facing charges of reckless driving and drink-driving.
The drivers were arrested from various spots in the city. They are to appear in court.
“Some of these drivers had become a danger to themselves and other road users because some were too drunk to even blow into the breathalyser tube,†Kalulu explained.
He said the Police were cracking down drunk drivers, especially at night and during morning hours.
“We have to protect people’s lives from such reckless people. We shall continue carrying out similar operations,†Kalulu said.