Motorists react to new Shs 2 million speeding fine

There have been mixed reactions after President Yoweri Museveni assented to the Traffic and Road Safety Act 1998 (Amendment, 2023) that raised the speeding penalty from Shs 200,000 to Shs 2 million.

In the amendment, the fines have been raised from ten currency points (Shs 200, 000) to a hundred currency points (Shs 2 million). A single currency point is worth Shs 20,000.

“A person who fails to comply with a speed limit set…commits an offence and is liable, on conviction, to a fine not exceeding one hundred currency points or imprisonment not exceeding three years or both,” clause (3) reads.

While road safety experts and advocates say it will help to minimize road crashes that claim an average of 12 lives of Ugandans every day, motorists are opposed to the hefty hike. Fred Kiapi, the programs manager at Hope for Victims of Road Traffic Accidents (HOVITA), said the law raising speed violation penalties is timely. He, however, expressed concern that it may not be properly implemented because of enforcers’ turning into a money-minting opportunity.

Siraje Mutyaba, a leader of the Public Transporters Association in Kampala Central, said the law will not have any impact because police will instead use it to extort more money from drivers. Mutyaba said since traffic police officers have been soliciting Shs 50,000-100,000 bribes for a speed penalty of 200,000, now that it has been raised, police will also increase their bribe fee up to Shs 500,000.

Mutyaba says indeed speed leads to death and injuries but the lead violators are the security and government officials who sometimes shove other users off the road. Fred Tumwine Nkuruho, the chairman of Road Safety Advocacy Coalition Uganda (ROSACU) said he is happy with the increase in speed violation fines because it will make drivers restrain themselves from violating the set limits.

Tumwine said as road safety advocates, they have participated in studies that have shown driving beyond the prescribed speed as one of the major causes of fatal and serious crashes on Ugandan roads.

“I support it because from our analysis speed is the major cause of crashes…My worry is on the enforcement. If the government can enforce it, there will be a big reduction in crashes and injuries and death tremendously,” said Tumwine.

The new amendments empower the minister through regulation to prescribe speed limits in respect of all public roads or sections of public roads. The minister may by statutory order prescribe temporary maximum speed limits for motor vehicles, trailers or engineering plant of different classes or description on any part of any road for such a period as may be specified in the order.

Police currently enforces a 30km/h speed in all built and busy areas while on highways drivers are not expected to exceed 70km/h. However, HOVITA is currently leading a campaign to enforce a 30km/h speed in all school zones. The traffic and road safety data of 2022 shows 4,534 people on Ugandan roads which translates into 12 people per day. Additionally, 42 people sustain life-threatening injuries that result into huge treatment costs, while many victims get confined in wheelchairs.