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Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The police have arrested 281 errant drivers on the Entebbe Expressway. Police say many drivers have been violating the 100km/hr speed limit on Entebbe Expressway, which has become a death spot.
Micheal Kananura, the Traffic Police Spokesperson, said they have resorted to using CCTVs to capture errant drivers because they could not deploy physical personnel. The arrested drivers, according to police, had become habitual offenders.
Kananura was speaking at a joint briefing with the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA), and the Ministry of Health where Fika Salama Extra operations along the expressway were launched.
The Fika Salama Extra will target drunk-driving drivers mostly in areas of Kampala Metropolitan and highways.
Police said the Fika Salama Extra operations will be conducted at snap checkpoints and sometimes CCTVs will be relied on to monitor driver behavior which is one of the major causes of road crashes.
“Traffic Police will conduct snap checks along dark spots on major highways depending on intelligence. We shall also use CCTV cameras to monitor & capture offenders. This information will be passed on to the officers at the Fika Salama Extra Check Points,” SP Kananura said.
Dr. Hasifa Lukwata, from the Ministry of Health, explained that breathalyzers are now safe and unable to spread Covid-19. The police acting on the advice of the Ministry of Health had suspended alcohol testing using breathalyzers in order to control the spread of COVID-19.
Lukwata warned people that there is no amount of alcohol that is small to the body. She said whether a person takes one bottle or many, alcohol can cause different impacts on the body, and common among them is its ability to affect the driver’s vision.
Police said habitual offenders will be taken to court for prosecution. Police have also warned drivers of PSV Motor Vehicles who violate this law will also be taken to court. “Drivers that will fail to comply at the checkpoints will be blacklisted, tracked and motor vehicles will be impounded,” Kananura said.
Traffic police records of last year show drunk driving was one of the factors that caused traffic crashes. It is not only in Uganda where drunk driving has caused crashes but in many countries and this is also observed in WHO’s report of 2018.
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