According to the figures compiled by the traffic police for the month of September, the agency collected a total of 170 Million Shillings in fines from intoxicated drivers and drivers who exceeded the permitted speed limit.
According to the statistics for the month of September, there were 474 drivers who were arrested and each was given a punishment of 200,000 Shillings for driving under the influence of alcohol.
In addition, the footage from the Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras was used to capture 380 motorists for going over the speed limit of 100 kilometres per hour (km/h) that was posted on the Entebbe Expressway.
In the same manner, as with the intoxicated drivers, the police issued a fine of 200,000 shillings to the drivers who were speeding.
Superintendent of Police (SP) Michael Kananura, who serves as the spokesperson for the Traffic police, stated that many drivers on the Entebbe Expressway had disregarded the speed limit, which is set at 100 kilometres per hour (km/h).
“On the Entebbe Expressway, drivers regularly exceed the maximum speed limit since they are aware that we do not have traffic personnel present at all spots. However, we have our own CCTVs, which we employ to capture these people and then we issue them fines,” said SP Kananura.
The penalties for drunk drivers contributed 94 million shillings to the total amount collected of 170 million shillings, while the fines for speeding contributed 76 million shillings.
The intoxicated motorists were stopped most frequently on high-risk roads in the middle of the night, including as the Northern Bypass, Entebbe Expressway, Jinja Road, Kira Road, and Entebbe Road.
“We also had to seize and impound 569 motorcycles because the owners did not have valid driver’s licenses, reflector jackets, or crash helmets,” the official said.
This was part of our Fika Salama Extra activities that we were conducting on a number of different roadways, said SP Kananura.
According to Siraje Mutyaba, the leader of Boda boda riders in the Kampala central division, they have ceased intervening in situations relating to the arrest of motorcycles for not wearing crash helmets, not having driver licenses, or not having reflector jackets.
“We have taken part in police sensitization sessions, during which we educated bodaboda drivers on the significance of carrying valid driver’s licenses and wearing helmets when operating their vehicles. According to Mutyaba, “we have given up on them because it appears that many are not ready to respect the traffic laws.”
In the meantime, Superintendent Kananura informed that there were 71 people killed and 287 people seriously injured as a result of traffic accidents over the previous week.
There were 71 people who were killed in total; 28 were riders of Boda bodas, 7 were passengers on motorcycles, and 17 were pedestrians.
