NAKASONGOLA, UGANDA: The territorial Police in Nakasongola is investigating a serious accident that left over 16 passengers injured after a speeding bus overturned along Kampala Gulu highway on Monday evening.
The incident is reported to have occurred at around 10pm when an Isuzu bus registration number UAR 655M belonging to Valley Bus Company Limited overturned causing serious injuries, although no fatalities were reported at the accident scene.
“The Bus was coming from Gulu side heading to Kampala and it IS alleged that the driver lost control and overturned, causing serious injuries to 16 passengers who were on board. The cause of the accident has been attributed to reckless driving,” the traffic police spokesperson, ASP Faridah Nampiim said on Tuesday morning.
According to Ms Nampiima, the injured victims were rushed to Nakasongola Health Centre IV, St Franciscan Health Centre IV and Kasana Hospital Luwero for medical attention.
She attributed the cause of the accident has been attributed to reckless driving.
The incident comes at a time when the country is grappling with an increase in road crashes involving buses with many experts attributing this to poor state of Uganda roads while others claim most accidents are a result of human error.
Just barely a week, a tragic accident in Kamdini involving a bus belonging to Roblyn Bus Company rammed into a stationary trailer that was offloading cassava on the roadside leaving 20 people dead with several others still admitted with critical injuries.
In its weekly update issued yesterday (Monday), Ms Nampiima reported that a total of 79 people were killed in road crashes in the first seven days of the year 2023, which according to her is an alarming figure that calls for vigilance for all road users.
The traffic police directorate also revealed that it had reinstated identification badges for all bus drivers as one of the initiatives to crack down on incompetent drivers since only qualified ones are issued with the badges.
She explained that in every passenger bus, the driver must clearly display their photo, badge which has their name, permit number, class of the driving permit and the bus company to help police monitor the movement of buses.
“All companies are instructed to submit particulars of their drivers to the Ministry of Works and Transport for verification. No driver of a bus will be allowed on the road without a badge and if your badge is withdrawn, you will never be allowed to chauffer a bus in this country,” Nampiima warned.
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