Crime
55 people killed in road crashes during three days of Christmas
A total of people 55 were killed in road crashes between 23rd to 26th December 2022, Faridah Nampiima the PRO Traffic and Road Safety Directorate has said.
206 road crashes were registered during this period and of these, 47 were fatal, 95 serious and 64 were minor. According to Nampiima, 267 victims were affected in the accidents leading to 55 deaths and 212 serious injuries.
Only one driver died while 15 were seriously injured. 15 motorcyclists died and 68 were seriously injured. 8 motorcycle passengers died and 53 sustained serious injuries.
5 passengers died in taxi accidents while 4 sustained serious injuries. 21 pedestrians were killed and 24 sustained serious injuries. In buses, there were no deaths but 6 passengers sustained serious injuries. Meanwhile, in other vehicles, 5 people died and 41 sustained serious injuries.
Nampiima told the media at Naguru police headquarters today that pedestrians accounted for the highest number of fatalities contributing 38.18% followed by motorcyclists who accounted for 27.27%, passengers on motorcycles at 14.54%, passengers in taxis and other vehicles at 9.09% each, drivers accounted for 1.82% while passengers in buses and coasters accounted for 0.00% each.
“These crashes had a number of causes and one is reckless driving on the road. Speeding, drunk driving, failure to use signals, using phones, careless pedestrians among others,” says Nampiima.
Kampala South had 40 crashes with 3 fatalities, Kampala East registered 31 crashes with 8 fatalities, and Kampala North registered 31 with 4 fatalities. The entire Kampala Metropolitan area registered 102 crashes altogether.
Nampiima adds that the number of fatalities has reduced as compared to the same period in 2021 from 56 to 47 fatalities.
Police also arrested 3,519 traffic offenders who were issued EPS tickets. These were driving DMCs while others were arrested for reckless driving.
“You know the excitement is very high during this period. 652 were issued EPS tickets for reckless driving, 640 for driving DMCs, 311 for using invalid driving licenses, 295 were arrested for driving vehicles without third-party insurance, 232 for speeding, 165 were not wearing seatbelts, 185 had no reflectors and warning signs, 47 were driving while on phones. 239 motorcyclists were arrested for riding without crash helmets, 117 had no permits, and 62 were carrying more than one passenger,” says Nampiima.
She cautioned pedestrians to be careful when crossing roads and to stop drinking and staggering on the road or drinking near their homes.
