Africa-Press – Uganda. Mr Musa Ecweru, Minister For Works And Transport, has urged Ugandans to slow down while driving and stop blaming ancestral forces and spirits for accidents.
According to the minister, who spoke during the Road Safety Week launch on December 14, many accidents occur as a result of people’s own mistakes, including overspeeding, and overloading, among other offenses, and when an accident occurs, they blame evil spirits.
“Can you imagine these educated people continually blaming spirits for road crashes? I have received several communications asking me to facilitate the church and all those who can expel spirits to get to Masaka Road and chase them.
The spirits will not go away if we don’t respect traffic rules,” Hon Ecweru said.
This comes shortly after the Road Safety Coalition of Uganda released a Road-Safety Chronicles Report this December indicating that 80% of road crashes are the result of human error.
According to the UN Development Report 2018, the economic burden of road crashes in Uganda was estimated at 4.4 trillion shillings, while new preliminary data indicates that this may have quadrupled to a tune of 17.4 trillion shillings.
Furthermore, the minister praised the traffic directorate’s efforts but noted that some traffic officers are bribed to flag off vehicles for violating traffic laws.
A folded hand is extended by the drivers to the officers before they are flagged off and the flagged-off vehicle continues overspeeding,” Hon Ecweru said.
In addition, the minister slammed joggers and youth who run along roads with earphones, pointing out that many of them are involved in fatal accidents.
“I do deliberate exercise. I can never imagine any sane person blocking his ears and jogging on a highway. The people who jog that way are not illiterates, they are educated which leaves me wondering what schools they attended,” Hon Ecweru added.
The Uganda Police Crime Report released earlier this year indicates that 1,579 pedestrians were killed in 2022 in fatal road accidents.
The State Minister later launched the ‘Yogerako’ Campaign dubbed ‘My Ride, My Safety, My Responsibility,’ a campaign aimed at enlightening boda boda riders and passengers on road safety precautions, further encouraging passengers to speak up in case of reckless and unprofessional riding.
The Road Safety Coalition Uganda Report indicates that 43% of all accidents involve boda boda riders and cyclists.
Several remarks and engagements were made during Road Safety Week, which coincides with the festive season, which is usually a time when road accidents are common.
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