By Azale Godwin

Across different Boda Boda stages in Arua city, reflector jackets are visible with many cyclists donning them as they prepare to take off with passengers. Those without the jackets are being warned to stay away from the streets as police and the commercial motorcycle leaders move to enforce compulsory wearing of the jackets.

The move for compulsory reflector jacket originated from the fact that annually, commercial motorcycle riders contributed to one of the biggest numbers of road crashes. For example the 2022 annual traffic and crime report by Uganda police indicated that 41,224 cases of offences related to riding a Motorcycle without wearing a crash helmet and reflector jackets on the road were reported, up from 40,078 in 2021.

This placed motorcycle offenses third on the list of traffic crimes committed during the same period. The top spot went to offence of using vehicles not in good condition with 92,029, followed by careless or inconsiderate use of motor vehicle with 78,693 cases while riding a Motorcycle without wearing a crash helmet and reflector jackets on the road registered 41,224.

At least 1404 motorcycle riders died in 2022 out of the total 4,534 fatalities registered in the year under review and 552 passengers on motorcycles died during the period. 1579 pedestrians also lost their lives, although the police statistics did not indicate whether they were killed by motorcycle or motor vehicle crashes.

For a number of different groups, this was a wakeup call and police immediately swung into action and ordered that all cyclists must compulsorily wear reflector jackets to make them more visible even during the bad weather conditions and at night.

Muni University in Arua city was one of those institutions that responded by distributing the reflector jackets to commercial cyclists in the city, after which they extended the exercise to all the urban centres in the West Nile region.

“In efforts to reduce the rampant road crashes in the country, Muni University is set to give out these beautiful reflector jackets to boda boda operators in the West Nile region. Your safety on the road is our priority. Muni University. Today we  gave out hundreds of reflector jackets to Boda bodas in several urban centers in the West Nile region including, Maracha  TC, Oleba, Koboko MC, Yumbe TC, Lefori, Laropi Landing site,& Andinia, among others. Remember it started with Arua city about a month ago,” the university management said.

“Your safety on the road is our priority. Muni University: transforming lives,” a campaign hashtag by the university states.

The move has generated excitement both within the university community and the commercial motorcycle riders who all agree that it is a move in the right direction.

Martin Ssembuze, a student at the university at the forefront of the campaign says it’s a positive gesture, which will go a long way in saving lives, not only within the city, but the greater district and the West Nile region.

“For the love of my university, I support the move. The safety of the boda riders, is the safety of us the students and other people who sit on those boda bodaz. Many of us cannot afford cars and therefore the cheapest and the quickest means of transport is the boda boda motorcycle, but to be safe, we must all work together with them to sensitise them and make sure they observe the safety precautions on the roads,” Ssembuze said.

In 2022, Arua district registered more than 300 cases of motorcycle crashes with more than 50 dead and several other still nursing injuries.

El Mahad Berlin Mawa, the Arua City Boda Boda cyclists’ association chairperson said while different interventions are ongoing, the association together with the city council is already mapping out the different Boda Boda stages across the city for better planning. Mawa said after completing the exercise, they will use the information make register all the operators in each stage, given an identification number which will be printed on their reflector jackets for easier identification.

“We are completing the mapping exercise today and after that we shall call a stakeholders meeting and agree on how to move forward. One of the things we shall do is that as the association, we shall issue reflector jackets based on different stages with identification tags so that we know you. In case you misbehave, we shall be able to trace you to rout stage and deal with you accordingly,” he said.

Mawa also said together with the stage leaders, they will continue to sensitise the cyclists to ensure that they comply with the traffic rules.

“We want to make sure that all our members observe the traffic rules and regulations so that together we stop the carnage on our roads. It is going to be the responsibility of all registered members to do that. Secondly there are these people who operate commercial motorcycles without registration. By mapping out stages, we shall eliminate such people and make sure only gazetted stages are allowed to operate so that we also eliminate other forms of crimes,” he said.

Police lauds reflector jacket efforts

Josephine Angucia, the West Nile police spokesperson said the move by Muni University to distribute the reflector jackets will go a long way in solving this. She said the police gave the cyclists a week as a grace period before starting the enforcement of compulsory wearing of the jackets.

“This has saved the situation somehow. You know the wearing of reflector jackets in new in this region and when something has just been introduced, there is a challenge attitude problem, but we are working it out with the members,” she said.

We have been going on radio stations and engaging in community sensitization. After we did that, we started enforcing the compulsory wearing of the jackets and those that default, we impound their motorcycles and also issues express penalties,” she added.

Angucia said since the distribution and enforcement started, there has been some discipline on the roads. She said they are working together with the leadership of different stages to make sure all the members wear the jackets.

“So far, the situation has been smooth. Members keep on reminding each other and the leaders have also taken it upon themselves to ensure that their members comply with the new demands. We shall soon launch the compulsory reflector jacket programme in all the districts in West Nile to ensure every cyclist both commercial and personal have the jackets,” she said.

No cross border excuses

A number of districts in West Nile are bordered by the Democratic Republic of Congo in the West and South Sudan in the north. Nebbi, Zombo, Arua district, Arua City, Maracha and Koboko districts all border the DRC, while Koboko district, Yumbe, Moyo and Adjumani border South Sudan.

Across the borders in the two countries, the commercial cyclists are not required to wear the reflector jackets. However, Angucia says when they legally cross the international borders and enter Uganda, they must wear the jackets.

“Those who cross illegally are apprehended and handed over to the law enforcement agencies for illegal entry into the country. However, if you cross through the right channels, as soon as you enter Uganda, you must wear the jackets and there will be no exception. We are using the radio stations in the region to communicate this across the borders because we know our stations here broadcast and reach deep inside these two countries so there will be no excuse for them to say we are not aware,” she said.

“What must be made clear is that we use Ugandan laws to deal with situations of cross border movements. Once you are in Uganda, you must obey the laws of the land because that is what we shall use to deal with you if you commit crime here,” she added.

Ministry of health has been carrying out sensitization drives across the region and has also distributed a number of reflector jackets alongside educating the cyclists on the dangers of road crashes and its associated long term impacts.

Angucia said these and other interventions will continue to be at the centre of campaigns to reduce road crashes in the West Nile region