DRIVERS NEED TO UNDERGO REFRESHER COURSES TO CURB ACCIDENTS, SAYS EXPERT

By Innocent Atuganyira

MASINDI:

In an effort to fight and reduce accidents in the country, drivers have been urged to go for refresher courses as a way to fight the increasing accidents.

In an interview with our reporter, Mr. Charles Ndozereho the Director Life Safe Driving School Masindi said that lack of refresher courses for the drivers has also been attributed to the increased accidents in Uganda.

According to Ndozereho, most drivers don’t undergo refresher courses, something he said is attributing to increased cases of accidents in the country.

‘’Lack of discipline, low pay, family or relationship misunderstanding, and lack of servicing vehicles has greatly contributed to accidents in Uganda,’’ he says.

The director notes that there is a need for the government to summon all drivers or transport companies and find solutions to the increasing accidents in the country.

In addition, Ndozereho asked the government to support driving schools in the country since some drivers have not undergone training adding that such drivers lack road and office discipline, something he said is increasing accidents in the country.

‘’Most drivers don’t know the importance of traffic police on the road, and this is due to lack of training which puts the lives of travellers at risk, the government needs to address such issues through refresher courses,’’ he asserted.

ASP Julius Allan Hakiza, the Albertine Region police spokesperson recently told our reporter that recklessness has been cited in most accidents registered in the Albertine region.

Hakiza said that most road users and drivers do not pay attention to the road signs, ignore traffic lights hence over speeding something he said has accelerated accidents in the region.

‘’Most pedestrians and drivers don’t pay attention to the road signs and traffic lights which is the root cause of many accidents in the region,’’ he explained.

According to Hakiza, pedestrians moving into the wrong lane, crossing the road without looking at different road sides have further contributed to road accidents.

‘’This kind of conduct among both drivers and pedestrians are putting people’s lives in danger’’ he asserted.

The police officer said that the owners of vehicles and motorcycles should monitor their riders or drivers to ensure accidents are reduced in the region.

‘’The owners of vehicles and motorcycles should also take the responsibility of monitoring their drivers while our traffic officers remain committed on the roads to regulate movements of drivers and vehicles in bad mechanical conditions,’’Hakiza noted.

Rogers Kanti, a driver, told our reporter that there is a lack of driving behaviour analysis among drivers in the region.

‘’Driving behaviour analysis is an important part of research on traffic safety, which is a reflection of how the driver steers the vehicle including speed and attitude control,’’ he explained.

Careless driving Uganda is a civil traffic violation and is charged when people behind the wheel heedlessly ignore the road rules.

Rogers Musinguzi, a driver along Masindi – Hoima road, told our reporter that careless driving on the road is majorly caused by financial stress between drivers and pedestrians.

‘’Loan, school or domestic and relationship stress have also resulted in increasing accidents in the region. These issues need to be sorted before sitting on the steering,’’ he said.

He also asked drivers to be aware of the surroundings, follow traffic laws, and drive within the speed limit adding it’s the major role for drivers and if embraced, it can reduce accidents on the road.

According to Sulaiman Byabazaire, most drivers get distracted on mobile phones while driving thus failing to balance their emotions.

‘’Drivers need to undergo a lot of traffic psychology to help them install a desired behaviour while driving,’’ the pedestrian suggested.