Road carnage: Tanzania gets stricter than other EAC states

On August 18 this year, Robina Mudondo was travelling in a taxi with two of her children from Kaliro town to Namutumba town in eastern Uganda when a speeding bus rammed into their vehicle. The accident reportedly claimed ten lives.

“I sustained a broken leg, and one of my children broke an arm. The other sustained minor injuries,” Mudondo narrates. Her experience is just a tip of the iceberg that is road vehicular carnage in Uganda.

Addressing road carnage in East Africa

Samuel Mbabazi, a motorist who worked in Tanzania for one year, believes that Tanzania performs better than Kenya, Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda as far as reducing road carnage is concerned. In Tanzania, Mbabazi says, traffic laws are stricter.

“If you get caught driving above the set speed, or committing any other traffic offence, even if you call someone in an influential political position, they will not rescue you. You will pay for the offence,” Mbabazi explains.

Traffic officers in Tanzania are also paid monthly allowances. This comes on top of their salaries. The allowances, Mbabazi opines, reduces the incidence of corruption among the road traffic police.

Hidden ‘speed guns’

Besides highway cameras that are installed along Tanzanian highways, Mbabazi says traffic officers with ‘road speed guns’ at times climb up trees, or hide in roadside bushes to record videos and take photos of reckless motorists. This information is sent to the check point ahead through social media platforms such as WhatsApp to inform on you as having committed a traffic offence, complete with supportive video evidence.

Low driving speeds

The distance from Dar es Salaam to Arusha is approximately 622 kilometres. Under Tanzanian laws, a motorist will need approximately 11 hours to cover this distance, driving at a speed of 60km/hour regardless of one’s status in society.

“Imagine driving in congested traffic or highway - and the car in the next lane is of a government minister or a diplomatic envoy without a lead car. That is how the law works on everyone in Tanzania. You will drive 70 kilometres in two hours because the speed limit in some sections dictates that you must not drive above 50km/hour,” Mbabazi says.

Monitoring of public service vehicles

Unlike in Uganda, every commercial vehicle, especially buses, in Tanzania are fitted with tracking systems and speed governors. These are connected to the traffic police system, and if you drive faster than the prescribed speed, you are exposed and legal measures taken accordingly.

Rwanda vis-a-vis Uganda

In terms of road infrastructure, ‘James’ (not his real name) - a bus driver with Trinity Bus Company - says roads in Rwanda are narrower than those in Uganda. He adds that the traffic laws in Rwanda - just like those against the use of polyethylene bags - are strict.

For example, every bus that is entering Rwanda - regardless of whether it is registered in Rwanda or in another country - must be fitted with a speed limit that is connected to the Rwandan traffic police office as the regulator.

“It does not matter how long you are to drive in the country. The speed limit for all vehicles is 60km/hour.

If you are caught driving a vehicle under the influence of alcohol, you are imprisoned - and the vehicle is impounded,” James explains.

Uganda’s efforts

To address road carnage, - especially along Masaka Road - the minister of State for Works and Transport, Aggrey Bagiire, launched the Fika Salama campaign in September 2016. The purpose of the campaign was to sensitise road users on road safety and infrastructure protection. The campaign is still being implemented on major highways.

However, Charles Ssebambulidde, the spokesperson of the Uganda Traffic Directorate, thinks that Fika Salama may not do much because location of the control points are now known by motorists. And when they approach the points, they slow down. Ssebambulidde says that this is when CCTV cameras should come in handy .

“CCTV cameras will be strictly for capturing motorists who drive above the recommended speeds,” Ssebambulidde says.

This, according to Ronnie Kyazze, the head of Programmes at Towards Zero East Africa - a campaign that works to end road carnage in East Africa - means that Uganda will take some time to realise the results of what is a greatly reduced road carnage.

“We may have to adopt the Tanzanian way of arresting those who drive above prescribed speeds by deploying hidden ‘speed guns’ traffic officers. Otherwise, sooner or later, motorists will also discover where these highway CCTV cameras are planted - and will slow down as they approach them,” says Kyazze.

Unlike Tanzania, Ssebambulidde says the Uganda Traffic Directorate is in the process of using number plate recognition cameras to curb motorists who drive above the required speeds. Like in Tanzania, Ssebambulidde says these cameras will send signals to the control centre which will then declare your car wanted for speeding - and a fine imposed.

The express penalty scheme

The Traffic Directorate have launched an automated express penalty scheme. This replaces the manual penalty receipts that often took long to be fed into the traffic system and subsquent follow-up by the traffic police. The automated system captures both the vehicle’s plate number and the driver’s licence number.

“Since the system targets the driver rather than the owner of the vehicle involved, it has eliminated errant drivers who used to drive without a licence. If you are caught driving without a permit, you are detained,” Ssebambulidde notes.

While most - if not all - Ugandan roads are installed with speed limit signs, Paul Kwamusi, a road safety consultant at the Integrated Transport Systems Limited, says leaders or politicians are not being exemplary to motorists by driving at high speeds.

“People (motorists) look at what you are doing, and learn from you. As an instructor, we tell people not to drive recklessly. The road safety challenge is a leadership issue,” Kwamusi observes.

Kenya versus Uganda

According to Kyazze, the laws, policies or measures which address road accidents in Kenya are more or less similar to those in Uganda. However, he is quick to state that Kenya’s inordinately high traffic offence fines promote corruption.

“Roads in Kenya are wide and this means that motorists recklessly drive at the speeds they want. The roads also have speed limit signs - but, when you are caught by a traffic officer driving beyond the recommended speed, they will flag you by the roadside for interrogation. The motorist will bribe them - and are just as soon allowed to merrily drive away,” Kyazza explains. (NMG).