The Illusion of Safety: How Our Zebra Crossings are Failing Pedestrians

By Juungu Archelaus

Zebra crossings are designed as a sanctuary for pedestrians, intended to regulate traffic and provide a safe window to cross busy roads. Under the law, these markings serve as a clear directive: drivers must look out for pedestrians, slow down, and stop at the designated line.

However, there is a widening gap between road law and road reality. Today, pedestrians view these crossings with pessimism rather than as a place of convenience; the zebra crossing has become a site of vulnerability, forcing people to cross outside designated boundaries just to find a safe gap in traffic, further increasing the risk of accidents.

A few days ago, while using a crossing in the city, I was nearly crushed by speeding vehicles despite the lessons we learned in primary school, that vehicles must stop for pedestrians; however, the current reality is the exact opposite. Taxis, private cars, official government vehicles, and bodabodas routinely ignore the rules, often hooting aggressively to force pedestrians to wait for them to pass.

Recently, as the Kampala Metropolitan Deputy police spokesperson, ASP Luke Owoyesigyire, was releasing a report about musician Master Parrot’s demise, he urged the public to keep crossing the roads at the designated areas, him not aware of the status quo. When motorists treat safety markings with such blatant disregard, it renders the work of road designers useless. It is a common, discouraging scene in our cities today that puts the interests of speeding vehicles above human safety.

With this in mind, it makes perfect sense for the Directorate of Traffic and Road Safety to take the stage. Without their intervention and strict enforcement, pedestrians remain vulnerable to a system that no longer protects them. Until then, the “right of way” remains a dangerous myth for the Ugandan pedestrian.

The writer is a student at Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST).