Kampala City drivers get new speed limits

The Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) wants all drivers subjected to a 30km per hour speed limit within the city.

The proposal, if approved by the authority, will take effect mid June or July, according to sources at KCCA.

The new measure is part of plans to restore transport order in the city and reduce the rising road carnage.

Jacob Byamukama, KCCA’s manager for transport planning and traffic management, confirmed that there would be a ‘speed review in the city’, but declined to give details.

The new plan provides for three classes of roads, with those near schools and health centres, restricted to the 30km per hour rule.

According to a source at KCCA, drivers on roads connecting to highways and the northern bypass will be allowed a maximum speed of 50km/hr, while others will have a 40km/hr limit.

Uganda has the second highest rate of road accidents in Africa and the world after Ethiopia.

At least 1,500 people were killed in the first six months of 2012 due to road accidents, according to the Police.

A study conducted by the Uganda Road Sector Support Initiative (URSSI), a transport advocacy organisation, attributes poor road design to the high rate of road accidents.

The study, which was carried out in the five regions of Uganda, also identifies weak legislation as a hindrance to the enforcement of laws relating to road usage.

It cites the Roads Act, 1949, which provides for the creation of road reserves and maintenance of roads, and the Access to Roads Act, 1969, which provides for access to a public highway.

“The laws are obsolete and the fines provided for are meaningless,” said Stewart Mutabazi, the URSSI executive director.

By Taddeo Bwambale, The New Vision

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