By HOMELAND MEDIA TEAM
A total of 1,187 vehicles have been de-registered by police as it started a crackdown on vehicles in dangerous mechanical condition around the country.
According to the traffic police spokesperson, Superintendent of Police, Michael Kananura, in a period between August, 12 and 19, they carried out operations specifically targeting vehicles in dangerous mechanical conditions around the country and several of them were impounded.
“We were able to impound a total of 1,187 vehicles which were de-registered, drivers issued with express penalty tickets and ordered to repair them, taken them back to the Inspectorate of Vehicles for inspection before being allowed back on the road,” Kananura told journalists on Monday.
Several vehicles on Ugandan roads are described as being dangerous mechanical condition and these are blamed for a number of accidents.
A vehicle can only be deemed to be in dangerous mechanical condition after being inspected and found to have failed to such an extent as to be a danger to the public if not immediately repaired.
The traffic police spokesperson warned that the operations will continue on various roads and highways across the country.
“Drivers without driving licenses, those with permits out of class and those with expired permits should stand warned that our operations targeting them have also kicked off. Other operations on drink-driving and careless driving will also continue.”
Kananura said as part of the ongoing crackdown, a total of 2,217 motorcycles were impounded after riders were found without riding permits and helmets.
“These will continue until all riders adhere to these requirements.”
Accidents claim more lives
The development comes on the backdrop of accidents continuing to claim more lives on Ugandan roads.
According to the traffic police spokesperson, in a period of one week, 437 accidents were registered, 74 of which were fatal, 224 serious and 124 minor.
“These accidents had 428 victims, 87 of which died and 341 sustained injuries. Of those who died, 40 were traveling on motorcycles with 11 being passengers, 29 riders and 25 people were pedestrians.”
The traffic police spokesperson said driving beyond the prescribed speed limits, improper overtaking like in blind spots, on hills and where there are vehicles ahead, destructed driving while speaking on phones while communicating on whats app, eating and driving while fatigued are still leading causes of these accidents.
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