Link Bus Shattering People’s Hopes, Dreams In Unending Bus Accidents

Before you board some bus companies in Uganda that are known for notorious accidents ,Inspect them for balding tyres, windshield wiper especially if it’s on the driver’s side.

For the good of your heart, avoid seats that give a view of oncoming traffic. If the driver’s wife or girlfriend is a passenger, board that bus,Her presence gives him an added incentive to survive the trip.

Ugandans are tired of unending bus accidents claiming hundreds of lives each year. On average Link Bus Company is involved in bus minor and major accidents every month.Link Bus has been on the spot over increased accidents

Uganda Police says there an Accident along Kasese-Kampala Highway this morning.

A link bus registration number UAK 881C was involved in a single accident today at 0900 hours at Kikorongo, along Kasese-Kampala Highway.

According to preliminary investigations, the driver allegedly lost control of the bus after it failed to break at a slope, which made the bus to overturn. 27 people sustained injuries out of the 64 who were on board.

The injured were rushed to Kagando and Kilembe hospitals for medication.The bus was towed to Kasese Police station. The the driver is currently on run.However, no death was registered as it is being circulated on social media platforms.

With several road accidents involving Gaagaa buses and the most recent claiming lives over 20 Ugandans in Kiryandongo district, the Transport Licensing Board (TLB) revoked the license for Gaagaa Bus Company for one month.

Why is Link Bus Company spared?

The Rwenzori region spokesperson, Lydia Tumushabe, said they have reported many cases of accidents involving Link Bus Company.

In May 2018, a Link Bus injured about 18 people after over turning near Kikorongo, about 21KM from Kasese District

On May 28th, Uganda’s cabinet approved the several measures to curb road carnage including installation of digital speed limiters in all commercial vehicle.

President Museveni reiterated the need to reduce road carnage urging police to be strict on rules and guidelines of road use.

A UN report released early this year indicates that 10 people in Uganda die every day in road traffic crashes.

In June 2018, At least three people  died and several others injured in a road accident along Hoima – Kampala Road.18/06/2018

This is another road accident involving a passenger bus of Link Bus Ltd in less than a month

Hajara Shatra Wenger says she hates link bus after surviving twice using that thing and all people who work there are allegedly thieves. 

Passengers are angry but why board a bus whose fleet is old like scrap.

The bus reportedly set off from Bwera in Kasese District at about 7.40am on Thursday before it overturned on its way to Kampala.

Over the years, Uganda has been one of the low and middle-income countries bearing the heaviest burden of road traffic incidents (RTI).

Since the proclamation of the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011 – 2020, a number of measures have been taken to reduce the burden.

Based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Data Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines, a systematic review was employed. Using a thematic analysis, the articles were grouped into: trauma etiology, trauma care, mortality, cost, trauma registry and communication, intervention and treatment for final analysis.

 

Of the nineteen articles that were identified to be relevant to the study, the etiology of RTI was inevitably observed to be an important cause of injuries in Uganda.

The risk factors cut across: the crash type, injury physiology, cause, victims, setting, age, economic status, and gender. All studies that were reviewed have advanced varying recommendations aimed at responding to the trend of RTIs in Uganda, of which some are in tandem with the five pillars of the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011 – 2020.

 

Peripheral measures of the burden of RTIs in Uganda were undertaken within a five-year time frame (2011-2015) of implementing the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety.

The measures however, ought to be scaled-up on robust evidence based research available from all the concerned stakeholders beyond Kampala or central region to other parts of Uganda.

 

The low and middle-income countries (LMICs) bear the heaviest burden of all road traffic incidents (RTIs) in the world. This is noted at 85% of the global average of 750,000 compared to 15% in high-income countries. These RTIs have caused approximately 1.3 million deaths, and 20 to 50 million injuries.  RTIs at times are interchangeably recorded as road traffic injuries, road traffic crashes, road traffic accidents, or motor vehicle crashes. However, each may slightly differ from the others. The present review defines road traffic injuries according to the World Health Organization (WHO) as the cause of fatalities leading to loss of life during the event time or a maximum of 30 days after the crash.  The African region (AFRO) alongside the Eastern Mediterranean region (EMRO) have the highest rate of road traffic deaths, which are described as a global pandemic and development problem.

Over years, Uganda has not been spared from the heavy burden of RTIs. At present, it experiences RTI deaths at 28.9 per 100,000 population. This is quite concerning as it even exceeds the 24.1 per 100,000 population for the AFRO and 18.0 per 100,000 population global average for deaths respectively. As a result, Uganda is among the top-ranking countries for RTIs along with South Africa, Nigeria, Iran, Thailand and Dominican Republic at 31.9; 33.7; 34.1; 38.1; and 41.7 per 100,000 population, respectively.

The trend of Uganda’s RTIs is further mirrored by the solid evidence denoting traffic injuries within the top-ten causes of mortality in the country. Accordingly, not less than 1,000 and 10,000 victims were killed and injured respectively due to RTIs in Uganda between 2010 and 2013. This has been reported in the annual traffic and crime reports of the Uganda Police Force (UPF).  This has cost Uganda dearly particularly in terms of the loss of a significant proportion of its economically active population, which in turn retards its economic growth and development. In response, a number of measures to reduce the burden of RTIs have been initiated ever since the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011 – 2020 was proclaimed on 11th May 2011.  However, there’s still a great need for establishing the existing RTI trend in Uganda based on the evidence-based research in order to properly inform any measures undertaken to reduce them. For this specific reason, the present study has been undertaken to address this need to some extent.

This review reports on the five year trend of RTIs in Uganda from 2011 and 2015. The results of the study provide useful information for all concerned stakeholders to enable them to better respond to RTIs. This will be vital for the remaining five years of implementing the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety.

 

About Post Author