Northern bypass road intersections top in killing Kampala vulnerable road users

6 April 2023, 3:33 pm

Byamukama Alozious   Byamukamaalozious1993@gmail.com

Kampala annual road safety report 2021 has revealed 78% increase in road crash fatalities in Kampala from 2020-2021. The report shows that the highest number of deaths and serious injuries in 2021 occurred among those aged 20 to 29 years of whom 82% are males. In addition, about half of the reported deaths (49.9%) occurred on Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays.

The  crash data has shown that the highest-risk intersections in Kampala are: Kalerwe roundabout (Northern Bypass),Nakulabye intersection (Balintuma and Hoima Road), Kissasi-Kyanja Road junction, Roundabout near Nkumba University, Kampala campus, and Bwaise roundabout (Northern Bypass) High-risk fatal corridors include Entebbe Road Kinsasi-Naalya roundabout, Busega-Namungoona roundabout, Gayaza roundabout (Kalerwe)-Kyebando Police Post (Northern Bypass), Ggaba Road, Kibuye-Natete Road, Jinja Road. Masaka Road, Bombo Road, and Hoima Road.

 In 2020, only 236 fatalities were recorded and 419 in 2021 kaking a 78% increase. The facilities were attributed to speeding, unsafe overtaking, violating traffic lights, sudden turning, and tailgating, among other factors.

During his keynote address, Kampala City Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago noted that the report provides specificity to guide interventions to save lives, building on the findings from the earlier report. However he challenged the Government to set up a Road safety independent council rather than having it as a department in the Ministry of Works and Transport. The city Mayor says there is no funding given to KKCA to cater for road safety and this has always risked the road users and He says when the Council established it will take safety first to all city dwellers and Ugandans on roads at large

The city Mayor is worried if Uganda will archive the Global Plan Action for Road Safety 2021-2030 which is to halve road traffic deaths and injuries

The Lord have appreciated Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS)  for the road safety fund and still calls for more support to further end the road safety risks by guiding them to safe system approach

Mayor Elias Lukwago delivering His speech at the Launch

According to the World Health Organization, road traffic crashes kill nearly 1.3 million people and jure up to 50 million worldwide. More than 90% of these deaths occur in low-income and middle-income countries, which have less than half of the world’s vehicles, and unfortunately these deaths are preventable.

KCCA Executive Director Dorothy Kisaka stated that the findings of this report highlight the urgent need for targeted interventions to address the identified factors contributing to road traffic crashes in Kampala.

“There is a need for collaborative efforts among all stakeholders including road users, law enforcement agencies, civil society organizations, and the private sector, to achieve the city’s goal of halving road traffic deaths and injuries by 2030, She adds that some initiatives are already underway to improve road safety in the city, including the installation of speed humps, road markings, and traffic signals, as well as sensitization campaigns targeting road users.

She called for increased investment in road safety interventions and the scaling up of successful initiatives to address the growing number of road traffic crashes in the city.

The report revealed that deaths among vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, motorcycle as and bicyclists accounted for 94% of deaths in 2021 with motorcyclists alone accounting for 51% of the reported deaths. Males accounted for 82% of deaths and 71% of serious injuries in 2021, emphasizing the need to prioritize the safety of vulnerable road users in Kampala. Kisaka wants urgent need to protect pedestrians and motorcyclists

Kampala Metropolitan Traffic Commander Kauma Nsereko suggests that Boda Boda riders be eliminated on Northern Bypass to reduce fatalities on that Road. He noted that the Northern Bypass should be left to motorists just like Entebbe express to prevent crushes which are being caused by motorcyclists

Afende Kauma Nsereko signing the 2021 report at Kampala capital city Authority Mayors Hall yesterday

The Kampala Capital city Director of Engineering and Technical services is however optimistic that the crushes on Northern will be prevented on all the intersections because Uganda National Roads Authority has installed traffics lights and urges the Road users to respect them to save lives in the city

Engineer Justus Akankwasa

Road Safety Risk Factors Status 2022

The City Authority Kampala revealed that excessive speed remains a significant issue, with almost half of the speeding vehicles clocking speeds of more than 5 km/h above the posted limit. It recommends applying global standards of 30 km/h for local and collector roads, given that a staggering 71% of vehicles were speeding thereby highlighting the need for stricter enforcement of speed limits to reduce the incidence of accidents caused by speeding

The report, generated by Makerere University School of Public Health with support from Johns Hopkins University, also indicates low seat-belt usage in Kampala, with overall seat-belt use at only 41% with adult passenger seat belt at 19% rear-seat passengers’ seat-belt use at 2% while child I use was almost non-existent at only 1% Bonny Balugaba from Makerere University School of Public Health underscores the need for increased public awareness campaigns and strict law enforcement to promote seat-belt and child restraint use

The combination of outcomes data and road user observation data provides a comprehensive understanding of road safety in Kampala, providing an opportunity to implement effective interventions and monitor their impact.