Who is to blame for a spike in road crashes?

Police and other stakeholders have expressed concern over the rising number of road accidents in recent months that have claimed several lives and left others injured.
Since the start of the year, police have reported an average of between 60 and 80 people dying in road accidents every week across the country. During the week of September 8 to 14, 61 people lost their lives, and 308 others sustained injuries in road crashes across Uganda, according to police.
The latest accident involved two senior UPDF officers, Brig Fred Twinamasiko, who served as the director of training and doctrine, and Brig (retired) Katende Kyambadde.
READ: Bus crash leaves seven dead, 30 injured on Masaka-Mbarara highway
Road crashes kill 2,000 in six months - police
The two died in a car crash at the weekend as they returned from the burial of Sarah Mateke, the State minister for Defence, in Kisoro District. Police and the army have not provided details about the cause of the accident.
On September 1, eight people died, and more than 20 others were injured when a Jaguar bus crashed into an Isuzu truck at Kabaale-Bugonzi on Masaka-Kampala highway. Six days earlier, 10 people died when a bus belonging to Pokopoko Company collided with a commuter taxi at Kaihura Trading Centre on Fort Portal –Kyenjojo Road.
On August 19, six people died and 37 sustained injuries after a Gateway bus collided head-on with a Fuso truck at Kirumba Village, Lwengo District, on the Masaka –Mbarara highway.
These accidents and many others have been blamed on bad roads, reckless driving, and poor law enforcement.
For instance, police named Butende Village in Ibulanku Sub-county, Bugweri District, on the Iganga-Tororo highway a black spot.
“On average, we register between five and six road crashes in this area every month,” the officer-in-charge (OC) of Bugweri Police Station, Mr Robert Nagolo, said last week.
 He added that in a year, at least six people lose their lives on the spot. According to Mr Nagolo, the lack of humps has also contributed to the many road crashes at the blackspot.
The Luuka District chairperson, Mr Simon Wakaze, said crashes mostly occur on roads that are usually used by sugarcane-ferrying trucks.
“These trucks inconvenience traffic as they are in poor mechanical conditions, while most of the drivers lack driving permits and connive with the traffic officers to operate on the road. Some (trucks) park by the roadside without reflectors,” he said.
In June, the Deputy Press Secretary of the President, Mr Faruk Kirunda, lost his wife Gladys Aliyinza when her vehicle was involved in a head-on collision with a sugarcane truck in Nawansega Ward, Bukova Town Council in Luuka District.
The Iganga District chairperson, Mr Ezra Gabula, cited Kaliro Road roundabout as one of the blackspots in Iganga Municipality and asked the government to ensure that all roads have street lights to prevent accidents.
The 50-kilometre Fort Portal-Kyenjojo road has also become synonymous with tragedy marked by several fatal road crashes every year, with the latest being the head-on collision involving a Pokopoko bus and a taxi on August 28.
According to Mr Charles Baguma, the officer-in-charge (OC) of Kaihura Police Post, two vehicles were parked in the left lane of the road at the time of the incident.
“The taxi driver was speeding. After climbing the raised hill towards the trading centre, he encountered a corner and tried to bypass the stationary fuel trailer and Fuso truck in his lane. However, there was an oncoming bus, and the taxi driver had crossed over into the bus lane," Mr Baguma said.
In March, two separate fatal road crashes on the same road claimed the lives of 11 people and injured about eight others.
The first incident occurred on March 5 at Mukunyu Trading Centre, where six individuals died on the spot, while two others succumbed to their injuries on their way to Kyenjojo Hospital.
According to the police, the crash happened when a Fuso lorry failed to brake, overturned multiple times, and collided with a stationary taxi.
The Mukunyu area is now becoming a black spot for road crashes. In July last year, a Link Bus collided with a stationary lorry truck carrying electric poles, resulting in the death of the bus driver, Kawawu Dauda, while several passengers sustained injuries.
In Nwoya, the residents of Olwiyo Town Council are hopeful that the tarmacking of Karuma-Arua highway will reduce the rampant accidents in the area.
“The bad state of the road is why you see these trailers, buses and smaller passenger cars crashing into the bushes or knocking themselves, but we are sure that the tarmac road will end this,” Mr Francis Owot, a resident, said.
In June, at Latoro Village in Got Apwoyo Sub-county on the Gulu-Pakwach Road, a van carrying five tourists overturned after hitting a pothole.
Last year, two lives were lost when the driver of a truck lost control and overturned multiple times near Olwiyo Town after hitting a pothole.
The victims of the crash were en route to Arua City after attending the burial of Col (Rtd) Charles Okello Engola Macodwogo, the former State minister for Labour, Employment and Industrial Relations. 
 “Most accidents and loss of lives on this road have been due to its bad state, for more than seven years, we kept crying for its upgrade until recently when its works started,” Mr Morris Kakanyero, a resident, said.
On the Mbale-Tirinyi highway, the number of accidents has increased, leaving the leaders and law enforcement agencies concerned.
North Bukedi regional police spokesperson Samuel Semewo said at least two accidents are being registered daily on the road.
“The police will continue with operations to crack down on reckless drivers and those without valid driving permits, especially on major roads,” he said.
“The passengers should alert the police of any driver[s] who have persisted and refuse to abide by the police regulations by either speeding or overloading beyond their capacity,” he said.
 Mr Mohammad Nakeba, the Kibuku District chairperson, said there is a need for more sensitisation among road users.
“The number of accidents and people perishing on the roads is on the rise. This calls for everyone to be involved in ensuring the roads are safe,” he said.
The spokesperson for Kigezi Police Region, Mr Elly Maate, highlights speeding, driving under the influence of alcohol, drug abuse, overloading, poor road infrastructure and vehicles in dangerous mechanical condition as some of the causes of road accidents.
“Boda boda riders being the highest causers of road accidents, the regional and traffic officers have been mandated to hold radio talk shows sensitising the public of road use and respect of road signs to reduce road accidents. Drivers have also been warned against driving under the influence of alcohol and drug abuse,” Mr Maate said.
In Teso, a series of accidents continue to claim several people, the latest being in Kumi and Katakwi districts.
Last Thursday, a truck carrying Christians, who were returning from a prayer camp in Katakwi District, overturned in Abela, killing two women while others sustained injuries.
The chairperson of Katakwi District, Mr Geoffrey Omolo, said that particular spot has claimed many lives.
The other blackspots in Teso, which continue to claim lives are Kanyum Trading Centre.
Mr Edison Obukulem, the police spokesperson for the East Kyoga region, said the major cause of accidents in the area is reckless driving and riding.
He cited the other major blackspots as Akarukei and Odelo in Kumi, and Aloet in Bukedea District.
Mr Obukulem said the traffic police has increased its vigilance to ensure that traffic rules are observed.
Compiled by Fred Wambede, Philip Wafula, Alex Ashaba Tausi Nakato, Abubaker Kirunda, Tobbias Jolly Owiny, Simon Peter Emwamu, Robert Muhereza & Emmanuel Arineitwe