Uganda Police launches Fika Salama Extra Operations to reduce road carnage

The Uganda Police Force in partnership with the Ministry of Works and Transport, Ministry of Health, Uganda National Roads Authority launched Operation Fika Salama Extra, a special intervention to reduce road crashes in Uganda.

 According to the global status report on Road Safety 2018, 1.35million people died and 50 million sustained injuries globally. Developing economies record higher rates of traffic injuries, with 93% of all fatalities coming from Low- and Middle-Income Countries.

In Uganda, SP Kananura Michael, the PRO Directorate of Traffic and Road Safety, says that 12 people lose their lives daily on average in traffic road crashes. It is against this background that the Directorate of Traffic and Road safety in partnership with other stakeholders have launched operation Fika Salama Extra.

According to Kananura, Fika Salama Extra is putting more effort on the ongoing campaigns like enforcement, Road Safety education & engagement with other stakeholders. Fika Salama Extra checkpoints along all major highways will be re-activated from August 2023 to January 2024.

The enforcers target speed, which is a major risk factor that is among the leading causes of road crashes.

“An increase in speeds reduces your reaction time, breaking distance and stopping distance. The speed at which a vehicle travels directly influences the risk of a crash, as well as the severity of injuries and likelihood of death. Therefore, enforcement is critical for achieving safe use of roads and compliance to speed limits,” says Kananura.

During the launch of the campaign at the Directorate of Traffic in Natete, he noted that every person who drives a motor vehicle of any class or description on the road at speed greater than the prescribed maximum speed limit of that road, commits an offense and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding 2million shillings or imprisonment not exceeding 3 years or both.  At the discretion of the overall commander, the offender can be issued with an express penalty of UGX 200,000.

§  Traffic Police will conduct snap checks along dark spots on major highways, depending on intelligence.

§  We shall also use CCTV cameras to monitor & capture offenders. This information will be passed on to the officers at the Fika Salama Extra Check Points.

§  Habitual offenders will be taken to court for prosecution.

§  Drivers of PSV Motor Vehicles who will violate this law will also be taken to court  

§  Drivers that will fail to comply at the checkpoints will be blacklisted, tracked and motor vehicles will be impounded.

281 Drivers were captured by CCTV Cameras for violating the speed limit along the Kampala- Entebbe Express in an operation conducted for 13 hours.

Drunk driving is another risk factor and Kananura says it has been identified as a major cause of death not only in Uganda but worldwide because alcohol impairs both the driver’s vision and decision-making and this puts all road users at high risk of injury or death.

“The Traffic Directorate has identified high-risk roads where most accidents caused by driving intoxicated occur, i.e. Ggaba Road, Jinja Road, Kiira Rd, Entebbe Road, Kampala -Entebbe Express Way, Northern by pass and some streets in Central Business District (CBD). We have therefore decided to intensify operations targeting drivers who drive intoxicated of alcohol,” Kananura added.

Section 111 of T & RS Amendment Act 2020 provides for the offense of driving with a blood alcohol concentration above the prescribed limit. The Traffic and Road Safety (Prohibited Drugs and Alcohol Limit) Regulations 2023 provides for both prescribed blood alcohol levels and prescribed breath alcohol levels;

·       Regulation 3 provides that the prescribed blood alcohol level a driver of a vehicle other than a public service vehicle or ambulance is 50 milligrams of alcohol in 100 milliliters of blood while that of a driver of a public service vehicle or ambulance is 20 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millitres of blood.

·       Regulation 4 provides that the prescribed breath alcohol level for a driver of a vehicle other than a PSV or ambulance is 25 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millitres of blood while that of a driver of a PSV or ambulance is 10 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millitres of breath.

Section 111 (1) of the Traffic and Road Safety Amendment Act 2020 provides that a person who contravenes this law is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding UGX 6,000,000 or Imprisonment not exceeding three years or Both. 

Kananura adds that at the discretion of the overall commander, the offender can be issued with an express penalty scheme of UGX 200,000.

Last Friday, the police arrested 38 drivers who were found to be driving intoxicated from the operations carried out along Ggaba & Jinja Road.

Kananura says that they are extending these operations to cover the entire Kampala Metropolitan Area, other cities and some highways that have been identified.

“In these operations, we have added a component of taking biometrics (fingerprints) to have a profile (Database) of drivers who will have been found to be driving motor vehicles intoxicated of alcohol. This database will subsequently be integrated with that of INTERPOL.”

Fika Salama Extra Operations will also look at other offenses which include careless overtaking, driving without a valid driver’s license, driving out of class, carrying excess passengers, dangerous loading, driving a motor vehicle in a dangerous mechanical condition.  

The Fika Salama Extra shall also focus on Joint Sensation on road safety to improve and promote road user behaviors or discipline through the following means;

We shall continue to use the media, e.g. TV stations, radio stations and newspapers to reach out to road users, conduct physical engagements from bus terminals, taxi parks, markets, schools, churches, mosques, boda boda stages etc., social media platforms e.g. Twitter, WhatsApp, TikTok and police website to circulate road safety messages and road safety brochures, stickers, flyers and banners with road safety messages in different languages will be distributed at Fika Salama Extra check points.

The Public can Report Traffic Violation on our Toll free number, Tel: 0800199099.