A group of road activist organisations have launched a campaign today November 28,2023 dubbed Child Shield Road Safety Campaign to address the exposure of children to risks of road crashes.
The campaign focuses on how children are transported on motorcycles , which Activists say there has been hardly any consideration for their safety .
According to Reverend Mugara Evatt, founder of the Africa Youth Leadership Development and Health – AYLDH, one of the advocate groups ,the campaign will strictly address harmful transportation of children who are made to sit on fuel tanks of motorcycles.
He says ; ” This practice has turned the Uganda child into a shield to the motorcycle rider.”
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The police annual crime report 2022 speaks to this noting that Uganda lost 650 children due to road accidents .
Not only that , traffic police reports since 2018-2022 indicate that over 3,155 children below 18 years of age dies in road crashes while 5,949 sustained injuries.
Some of the risks for road crashes children are exposed to include sitting them on fuel tanks which limit the flexible movement of cyclists as well as risking them to crash head on , over loading whereby one finds over 4 children on one motor bike , in addition to sitting children alone without an elder to support the as they are sitted .
Byamukama Robert , an Administrator at the Boda Industry Uganda , noted that this campaign message is not only intended for the riders but passengers as well.
Loosing control for the rider .
Besides the road crashes Jackie Okao , Uganda’s in advocacy coordinator for road safety representing Global Health Advocacy Incubator, mentioned that sitting children on fuel tanks on motorcycles exposes them to health risks from the cold they take in but also emissions from the fuel tank onto their skin .
Kimuli Anthony from Traffic Safety Awareness Organisation Uganda Limited – TRASAO, who have taken up an initiative of training other cyclists on road safety reminded Ugandans that a child below 12 years of age is legally not supposed to to sit on a motorcycle by themselves without an elder for support . This is to minimise on their risk for road crashes .
The organisations spear heading this campaign include HOVITA, UNAU- United Nations Association of Uganda, AYLDH and ACME- Africa Center for Media Excellence .
“As adults ,we are obligated to protect children from all acts , behaviour or practices that endanger their lives as they are too innocent to defend themselves,” Reverend Mugara emphasised at the launch.