Uganda Professional Drivers’ Network (UPDN) on Thursday 19th December finally winded up their two days Annual Professional Drivers’ Conference that commenced on Wednesday 18th, by calling on both public and private vehicle drivers who participated at this annual event to at all times observe professional ethics in the course of carrying out their duties as professional drivers.
The call was made by various speakers at a two days’ conference held at Imperial Royale Hotel in Kampala.
Key on the agenda of the second Days’ conference were road safety training that focused on key behavioral risk factors responsible for road crashes in Uganda, especially Speeding. This comes at a time when the Government of Uganda is at the tail end of passing for use the Reviewed Traffic and Road Safety (Speed Limits) Regulations 2024 that among others includes reduced speed limits for built up areas from 50km/hr to 30km/hr.
Mr. Ndugu Omongo, UPDN Executive Director, in his opening remarks reiterated the need for drivers of all driving licenses’ categories to exhibit concerted effort of high-level professionalism not only to curb road carnage but also gain the confidence and trust from their employers and the public who use public transport for their daily movements.
“In Uganda driving is an informal job whereas it should not be the case. We need competent driving schools and instructors to produce professional drivers with similar quality/standards countrywide”, he said.
Mr. Omongo said major road crashes are caused by people who lack professional training, which is the major reason such drivers have failed to secure jobs in the Oil and Gas Sector which is dominated by foreign drivers.
Mr. Moses Tayebwa, a Professional Drivers Trainer, labored to remind the drivers present on road hazards that should be observed by drivers, Mr. Tayebwa categorized them into; permanent, semi-permanent and moving hazards. He said permanent hazards include; bends, junctions and bridges while semi-permanent ones comprise stationary vehicles, broken down vehicles and roadwork.
“Moving hazards include; moving vehicles, Boda Boda riders, pedestrians, cyclists and animals”, he added.
Mr. Ibrahim Kayondo, United Bus Drivers Association representative at the meeting, during question-and-answer session, reminded drivers of the need to observe professionalism. He said many Ugandan drivers failed to meet the professional driving requirements during the Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) and foreign drivers were recruited to do the job.
Other stakeholders who participated included; The Public Relations Officer of the Uganda Traffic Police-Directorate of Traffic and Road Safety, SP Kananura among others who stressed the importance for the drivers to always observe slower speeds as the most effective measure to curb the increasing road crash deaths and injuries in Uganda.
Madam Maria Nkalubo, the In-country coordinator for the Global Health Advocacy Incubator commended UPDN for the good job they are doing to ensure the drivers especially their leaders are involved in National Development initiatives like road safety. She recognized the role of her organisation and Global Road Safety Partnership which she said were instrumental in supporting the Government of Uganda through the Ministry of Works and Transport, Uganda Traffic Police including civil society organizations like the Uganda Professional Drivers’ Network (UPDN), ROSACU and others to develop, review and pass several road safety laws and policies especially on behavioral risk factors including the above mentioned Speed Limits Regulations 2024 as a strategy to supporting Uganda achieve the global goal of reducing by 50% road crash deaths and injuries by 2030.
The r APDC is an annual gathering of commercial drivers in Uganda from public and private sector. The event enables Ugandan drivers to annually meet and share experiences, network and listen to road transport experts share best practices in road safety for improved road safety in Uganda.
Dr.Joseph Baguma, a UPDN Board member commended the Ministry of Works and Transport for fast-tracking and reviewing the Speed Limits Regulations as Speeding was responsible for 52% of road crashes in Uganda in 2023 according to the Uganda Police Traffic Report. He, however, guided that The Local Government and Urban Authorities in Uganda who manage the District Urban Community Access Roads as guided by the Local Government Act Schedule II should have been given powers to reduce speed limits within their jurisdictions of the DUCAR within the soon to be gazette Speed Regulations as it is the best practice across the world to strengthen the impact of the currently centralized road safety programing in Uganda.
The Drivers demanded UPDN to lead them into the journey of making driving a profession in Uganda.
The 2024 event that commenced on 18th and ends 19th December, 2024 is being held under the Theme: ‘Towards a Professional, Safe and Prosperous Driving Industry.’
The conference covered driver professionalism, driver livelihood including sessions on personal finance management facilitated by NSSF among others.
Also in attendance were representatives from Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) and National Drug Authority (NDA).
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