A new road safety awareness campaign has been started by the Northern Corridor Transit and Transport Coordination Authority (NCTTCA), a transit transport and trade facilitation organization, with the goal of lowering the number of accidents on the Northern Corridor Road network.
The program, which began on September 11th, 2023 at Malaba Town Council in the Tororo area, will emphasize the need of encouraging people to drive safely and take personal responsibility for their own safety.
With the aim of reducing accidents on the Northern Corridor Road network and enhancing overall road safety, the campaign is being carried out in collaboration with the Ministry of Works and Transport (MoWT), Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA), Uganda National Transporters Association (UNTA), Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU), and the Uganda Police Force.
The campaign also intends to address driver fatigue, driver health, and driver well being while promoting the value of safe driving practices.
According to NCTTCA Executive Secretary Omae Nyarandi, “We are committed to improving road safety on the Northern Corridor road network, and this campaign is a key step in achieving that goal.”
“We believe that by promoting safe driving practices and encouraging road users to take responsibility for their own safety, we can reduce the number of accidents and make our roads safer for everyone,” the official continued.
The Northern Corridor’s main road system extends from Kenya’s Mombasa port through Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Additionally, it connects Juba in South Sudan with Kenya and Uganda. The total length of the corridor road network in Uganda is 2,076 km, extending from the Busia and Malaba borders with Kenya to Katuna, Ishasha, Mpondwe, Goli, Arua, Kigitumba, and the Nimule/Elegu border with South Sudan.
Along the path from Malaba to Jinja and Kampala to the Katuna border with Rwanda and then to the Mpondwe border with the DRC, roadshows will be held as part of the newly launched awareness campaign.
With more than 80% of the traffic coming and going from Kenya, these routes are among the busiest in Uganda.
The road system is important for trade and transportation, but it may also be hazardous. 21,473 people lost their lives in traffic accidents in 2022, according to data from the Uganda Police’s annual crime report for the year. Out of them, 21% were murdered, 71% suffered major injuries, and 8% managed to escape with only minor wounds. Compared to 2021, there were 19% more casualties. The number of people killed in traffic accidents climbed by 9%, the number of seriously injured people increased by 21%, and the number of people who suffered minor injuries increased by 33%.
The chairman of the Uganda National Transport Alliance, William Busulwa, urged all parties to collaborate and keep the number of accidents on the roads from rising.
According to Busulwa, drunkenness, exhaustion, lack of sleep, and irresponsibility are some of the factors that contribute to accidents on major roadways.
He said that the Northern Corridor would build 25 rest stops along the road so that motorists could take a break after traveling farther distances.
Thorough road demarcation, according to Taddeo Magina, a member of the Uganda Long Distance and Heavy Truck Drivers Association.
The fundamental issue, according to Magina, is that some roads lack clearly visible road markings. As a result, he urged UNRA and the works ministry to ensure that all tarmac roads in the nation are clearly marked.
In order to reach drivers, the Northern Corridor Road Safety Awareness Campaign will employ a number of different tactics, such as roadshow campaigns, radio and television, billboards, and social media. Targeted marketing for particular road users, like truck drivers and other drivers, will also be included of the campaign.
All Northern Corridor Member States will continue to participate in the long-term Northern Corridor Road Safety Awareness Campaign. The experiment began in Kenya and will move on to Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, and the DRC in phases after that. In order to increase traffic safety and lower the frequency of accidents on the Northern Corridor Road network, Northern Corridor is committed to collaborating with other stakeholders, such as the government, law enforcement agencies, and community organizations.
Concerning Northern Corridor
Established in 1985 under the Northern Corridor Transit and Transport Agreement (NCTTA), the Northern Corridor is a multimodal trade route connecting to the maritime Port of Mombasa that serves the Member States of Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, and Uganda in an effort to foster regional cooperation by facilitating interstate and transit trade.
The Northern Corridor Transit and Transport Coordination Authority (NCTTCA) oversees and manages the Corridor.
