The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
The World Health Organization (WHO) Road Safety Report 2015 states that there are 27.4 traffic deaths per 100,000 people every year in Uganda. It is higher in Kenya at 29.1, Rwanda 32.1 and Tanzania 32.9.
India has the most fatalities, but Libya is top on a per capita basis. The fatality rate on Libya’s roads was 73.4 per 100,000 people, way ahead of Thailand at 36.2 in second place. In the Developed World, according to the most recent year data available (2013), Germany has only 4.3 deaths per 100,000 people while the United States and United Kingdom had 10.6 and 2.9 respectively.
The report states that about 1.25 million people die each year in the world as a result of road traffic accidents, which means a road user dies every 30 seconds that pass – 3,400 daily. Between 20 and 50 million more people also suffer non-fatal injuries, with many incurring a disability as a result of their injury.
The report adds that 90% of the world’s fatalities on the roads occur in low- and middle-income countries, even though these countries have approximately half of the world’s vehicles.Another terrifying statistic is that road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death in the world among young people, aged 15–29 years.
The countries with worst road fatality rates. The countries with worst road fatality rates.
Pedestrians at Most Risk
Half of those dying on the world’s roads are “vulnerable road users”, that is pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists. In Uganda, Boda Boda accidents are reported to be top of the list of traffic accidents, and emergency admissions to hospitals.
A Uganda Police annual traffic report for 2013, while comparing statistics with the previous year, states that “generally there was a 6% decrease in the total number of persons killed in 2013. However the number of motor cyclists and pedal cyclists who died in 2013 increased by 12.3% and 3.2% respectively from that of 2012.”
The Uganda Report stated that “pedestrians and passengers continue to be the most vulnerable category of road users constituting 40.2% and 26.6 % respectively of the total number of persons killed in 2012. 1,181 pedestrians (40.2%), 781 passengers (26.6 %), 224 pedal cyclists (7.6%), 641 motor cyclists (21.8 %) and 110 drivers (3.7%) were killed in road accidents in 2013.”
To put it in perspective, more people die on the road worldwide every year than the annual death toll of about 438,000 from malaria.
What the report also reveals
*105 countries have good seat-belt laws that apply to all occupants;
*47 countries have good speed laws defining a national urban maximum speed limit of 50 Km/h and empowering local authorities to further reduce speed limits;
*34 countries have a good drink–driving law with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit of less than or equal to 0.05 g/dl as well as lower limits of less than or equal to 0.02 g/dl for young and novice drivers;
*44 countries have helmet laws that apply to all drivers, passengers, roads and engine types; require the helmet to be fastened and refer to a particular helmet standard;
*52 countries have a child restraint law for occupants of vehicles based on age, height or weight, and apply an age or height restriction on children sitting in the front seat.
*Motorcyclists are particularly vulnerable, making up 23% of all road traffic deaths. In many regions this problem is increasing; in the region of the Americas, for example, the proportion of motorcycle deaths out of all road traffic fatalities rose from 15% to 20% between 2010 and 2013. In the South-East Asia and Western Pacific regions a third of all road traffic deaths are among motorcyclists.
Other areas of concern
