Citation

Isolo Mukwaya P, Sengendo H. Proc. Road Saf. Four Continents Conf. 2010; 15: 924-936.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Conference Sponsor)

DOI

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PMID

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Abstract

Road safety is a major concern on the sustainable development agenda of Uganda. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), motor vehicle crashes kill about 1.2 million people each year. That is set to rise to 2 million by 2020 unless new safety measures are taken, making road traffic injuries the third largest cause of death and disability. The main objective of this paper is to examine existing road safety instruments and rules in Uganda that can help us to understand factors that inhibit the effective transfer of road safety policy into effective action. The paper also draws priority areas that require immediate attention for enhancing traffic safety in the country.Instruments and rules aimed at enhancing road safety in Uganda over the last 20 years can be classified into two phases: 1] 'ad hoc and ineffective road safety policy' [1986-2003]; and 2]policy renaissance tools [2004 - to date]. These phases which this paper refers to as transitions;have shown characteristics of policy systems that are part-malfunctioning, part-wobbly, incomplete and part non-existent. Data available shows that road safety condition in Uganda is still unsatisfactory and road accidents, fatalities and injury have been increasing during the last20 years. Uganda's current fatality rate is estimated to be 61 road deaths per 10,000 vehicles(2007) with a 7% increase per year. Based on average cost per vehicle damaged of US$ 2,290,average fatality cost of US$ 8,600, and injury costs of US$ 1,933, road accidents cost the Ugandan economy US$ 101 million per year representing a cost of about 2.7% of the country's GDP. This paper argues for a strong policy framework that should be integrated into the sustainable development framework for the country.