76 People Killed in Six Days Road Crashes

SP Michael Kananura, the traffic police spokesperson said motorists and motorcyclists do not bother to protect themselves and other road passengers when overtaking. “People overtake at blind spots. This has been one of the major reasons we are having deadly head on collisions,” SP Kananura said.

These statistics of 76 people killed in road crashes in six days came hours after another crash claimed lives of eight people in Kyazanga, Lwengo district on Monday morning. Twaha Kasirye the Greater Masaka regional police spokesperson, said the crash that involved a bus and a Fuso fighter happened because the bus driver was overtaking at a breakneck speed.

“Six people died on spot. We have been told that the driver was speeding and overtaking carelessly. We have always warned drivers against speeding and overtaking carelessly but this call hasn’t been heeded to,” SP Kasirye said.

SP Kananura explained that overtaking at unsafe spots accounted for 31% of the total road deaths in six days. This was followed by speeding which contributed 25% of the total road deaths. “Out of the 76 people who died in last week’s road crashes, 24 were motorcyclists, 19 were pedestrians, and 16 were passengers on motorcycles. We also lost five drivers, five pedal cyclists and four other victims who were going about their activities but they were knocked dead,” SP Kananura.

Among the major crashes of last week was the incident that happened on August 17, 2024 at Kiwawu village, in Mityana road which claimed lives of five people on spot. This incident involved a Toyota Ipsum UAS 999R and UBM 511K Fuso box body.

Police investigations showed that the Ipsum driver was avoiding a pothole at a breakneck speed and ended hitting a Fuso from the opposite direction. The Ipsum driver and four occupants died on spot. At least 4,806 people perished in the 2023 road crashes countrywide which translated to 13 deaths per day.

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