Daily road crash deaths increase from 12 to 13 people

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The number of people knocked on Ugandan roads has increased from 12  to 13 people per day, according to traffic police statistics.

Data presented by the Acting Director of Traffic Police, Lawrence Niwabiine, shows that 4,806 Ugandans died in road crashes in 2023, accounting for 13 deaths per day which is an increase compared to the 4,534 deaths recorded in 2022.

Out of the 4,806 deaths, 1,675 were pedestrians, 1,520 were motorcyclists, 614 were passengers on motorcycles, 324 were passengers travelling in vehicles and 232 were drivers. The figures show that pedestrian deaths increased from 1,579 in 2022 to 1,675 in 2023, while motorcycle fatalities increased from 1,404 in 2022 to 1520 in 2023.

Similarly, motorcycle passenger deaths increased from 552 to 614 while driver deaths increased from 198. Other than the increase in the number of road deaths in 2023, statistics show that people sustaining life-threatening injuries also increased from 15,227 in 2022 to 16,736 in 2023.

Traffic data also shows private vehicles were mostly involved in road crashes in 2023 at 2,0210, unknown vehicles were 1,254, foreign registered vehicles were 846, central government vehicles were 255, NGO vehicles were 147, police vehicles were 91, army vehicles were 76 and 11 prisons vehicles.

“Majority of the traffic offences were about driving vehicles in dangerous mechanical conditions and they increased from 92,029 in 2022 to 99068 in 2023. Obstruction on a road by loading or offloading increased from 20,063 in 2022 to 95,676 in 2023,” Niwabiine said.

Sam Bambanza, the Executive Director of Hope for Victims of Traffic Accidents (HOVITA) says the traffic crashes mean a lot that needs to be done in aspects of road sensitization, vehicle inspection, and road user protection for mostly pedestrians.

“When you see the number of people perishing on the roads on the rise every year, everyone needs to be involved in ensuring that the roads are safe. Most of the people we’re losing are children and those of the productive age which is below 35. We cannot progress as a country when we are losing our young people every day in road crashes,” Bambanza said.

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