KAMPALA, UGANDA: A report from the Traffic Police Directorate has indicated that a total of 1,021 boda-boda riders and 401 passengers have been killed in road accidents for the last nine months.
The Traffic Police spokesperson, ASP Faridah Nampiima revealed this in a Monday press statement saying the accidents in question happened between January and September across the country.
“Whereas we had 1021 riders killed in accidents, we also had 401 passengers killed in these accidents,” she said.
The statistics mean that at least 110 boda-boda riders are killed every month while the report further shows that a total of 2393 people sustained injuries due to accidents caused by boda-boda cyclists.
The figure is almost above the 1918 people killed in the whole year according to the 2021 Annual Crime and Traffic/Road Safety report which meant that five people were killed daily in accidents involving boda bodas.
In a related development, MS Nampiima also revealed that in an operation to crack down on errant boda boda cyclists in a bid to bring sanity to Ugandan roads, a total of 12217 boda bodas have been impounded in a space of eight days.
Nampiima said of these, 10167 were issued with express penalty scheme tickets and allowed to continue with their journeys.
“The operations will continue until we realise the discipline on the road by boda bodas has improved. We shall continue targeting those without reflector jackets and crash helmets,” she said.
Ms Nampiima also explained the rationale behind targeting crash helmets and reflector jackets noting that most riders have died because of crashing their heads on the road after being involved in accidents saying such deaths could have been avoided if the riders had crash helmets on their heads.
She added that reflector jackets ensure the riders are visible to other oncoming motorists to avoid accidents.
The traffic spokesperson however scoffed at critics of the operations against the operations targeting boda bodas riders, saying everything being done is meant to enforce Ugandan traffic rules and regulations.
“This country has laws that need to be complied with. I don’t think anyone criticizing our operations will be happy with the figures that show 1021 riders dead in nine months after crashing their heads for having no helmets and 401 passengers killed during the same period. Anyone who wants to take us to court is free to do so but we have laws to enforce,” Nampiima said.
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