By Leonard Kamugisha Akida,
KAMPALA
The government has announced a phased implementation of revised speed limits as part of efforts to improve orderliness on the roads and reduce accidents.
This was revealed by the Minister of Works and Transport, Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala, during a press conference at the Media Centre in Kampala on Friday.
According to the minister, urgent measures are needed to combat the rising number of road accidents in urban areas, especially in Kampala.
“The reason we have set the limit at 50 km/h is because some of you, even where there are speed bumps, rumble strips, and humps, still want to speed over them in your Subarus,” Katumba remarked.
Last month, the minister announced new speed limits aimed at reducing accidents caused by private vehicles and motorcycles. The new statutory regulations, known as the Traffic and Road Safety Speed Limits Regulations, primarily target these categories of road users.
“The road speaks to you; it tells you to drive at 50 km/h or 80 km/h, but some drivers ignore this and cruise at 80 km/h even where the limit is 50 km/h,” he added.
The minister also added that with the new guidelines in place, motor vehicles such as SUVs, Mini Vans will be using 30 km/h on urban roads, PSV and private Omni Buses with over eight seats will also be limited to 30 km/h in urban areas.
On highways passing through urban areas, the speed limit is now 50 km/h except for heavy goods vehicles and tractors which are capped at 40 km/h, while tractors drawing trailers are restricted to 30 km/h. Passenger vans in rural areas, the speed limit has been reduced from 100km/hr to 90 km/h.
SP Michael Kananura, spokesperson for the Directorate of Traffic and Road Safety, warned that violators will face severe penalties, including arrests, detention, fines, and court appearances.
“In some cases, we will not issue tickets but will instead detain offenders for 48 hours and take them to court. Many drivers no longer take fines seriously; they pay Shs100,000 or Shs200,000 and repeat the same mistake on the road,” Kananura stated.
The latest Police Annual Crime Report revealed that Uganda recorded 25,107 road crashes in 2024, marking a 6.4% increase from 2023. These included; 4,434 fatal crashes, 13,134 serious crashes and 7,539 minor crashes.
Police says enforcement of the new speed limits will help reduce reckless driving and road carnage.
