BUS DRIVERS ROAD SAFETY AWARENESS RAISING

With the most recent link bus road crash still having a fresh memory in the minds of most Ugandans, we had an awareness raising session with bus drivers at the Namayiba bus terminal premises on the 25^th of May 2022 as part of our activities building up to our silver jubilee celebrations.

Starting off the session was Omongo Ndugu, the Executive Director of the Uganda Professional Driver’s Network (UPDN). He addressed the leaders of the different bus companies about the importance of individual responsibility on the road as this can help reduce the carnage situation on the road.

Adding voice onto Ndugu, Fred Tumwine Nkuruho- URRENO’s Executive Director highlighted how team work is instrumental in moving the professional drivers network to even greater heights and attracting more investment in the transport sector.

SPC Mugisha who represented the Uganda Police team advised members of UPDN to create allowance for tired drivers to be off the road and catch some rest, eliminate drink driving and over speeding.

URRENO’s Program Director- Stephen Mbarushimana appreciated the good work relationship that has been exhibited by the bus drivers. He further mentioned that if any law has been passed and the drivers feel it is suppressing efforts towards their progress, they should feel free to engage us/partnering CSOs so that the message can be passed on to key decision makers to make their operations smoother.

Fred concluded the session by encouraging the bus drivers to self-regulate for sustainable road safety programing in a bid to end looming road crashes in Uganda. “Let’s not heap the blame and responsibility to only the government. It’s everybody’s responsibility to keep safe on the road,” he remarked.