Faulty Traffic Lights Sow Chaos On Kampala Roads

Traffic jam along Jinja road Kampala – typical of rush hours in the city Photo: Sadat Mbogo/Monitor.

5 Tips for Surviving Kampala Traffic Jam During Rush Hours – Moov Logistics News

Kampala – If you are attempting to cross any major junctions in Kampala City, you have to be extra careful because the traffic light signals are sometimes misleading

On several occasions the traffic lights have displayed misleading signals to motorists at major city junctions, nearly causing accidents.

Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) officials have attributed the incidents to malfunction and vandalism.

For instance, vehicles plying Kira Road junction were nearly involved in an accident recently after new traffic lights installed by KCCA malfunctioned.

5 TIPS FOR SURVIVING KAMPALA TRAFFIC JAM DURING RUSH HOURS

1. Play with your timing: For the workers, it is more advisable to drive early in the morning. Traffic often starts from 6 am to 8 am; try to move even before or after these times. Don’t be surprised if you see a lot of vehicles around 5 am, they all just want to escape the traffic jam that could cost them dearly. If you have just planned to move around the city, moving around from 9 am to 3 pm is the perfect time, don’t stay out until 5 pm as you will be stuck in traffic.

2. Use a Boda Boda (commercial motorcycle): This is the most popular and best transport means if you are in rush, although they are prohibited in some parts of the town.

3. Try to find the alternative route: Ensure to be very careful with the prohibited roads, pay attention to the road signs properly and find the routes that will make you to reach safely.

4. Check the traffic news on the radio: Sometimes there could be accidents or construction activities, stay updated by listening to the radio on the go.

5. If the place is not far, it is better if you can walk: This will save you time and money. Walking around the city might be the best way to get around and see the city closely.

A witness, who preferred anonymity, said several vehicles were nearly involved in head-on collisions in the middle of the junction and each of them swerved the opposite direction to avoid an accident.

“The car avoiding collision headed straight to the motorcycle I was on. We only survived after the rider avoided contact with the car,” the eyewitness said.

KCCA has erected traffic lights at several junctions in the city centre and its suburbs. There are traffic lights at Makerere Hill Road, Mambule Road, Bwaise and Kira Road.

The traffic lights on Yusuf Lule Road near Fairway Hotel have been malfunctioning since they were erected.

Mr Peter Kauju, the KCCA spokesman, recently said the traffic lights at Yusuf Lule Road went off after unknown people vandalised the cables connecting them to the power supply. They have since been reconnected.

Some of the traffic lights in the city such as those at Clock Tower on Entebbe Road and Kitgum House junction on Jinja Road are still using old technology. They are pre-set and, therefore, cannot effectively respond to solve a surge of traffic from one direction.

The Executive Director of KCCA, Ms Jennifer Musisi, said during the mid-term review of the institutional infrastructure development on Wednesday, that KCCA had invested a lot of money in traffic lights to save people from traffic jams, but traffic police are hindering their operation by overruling them.

Ms Musisi’s assertion is supported by Operation Wealth Creation chairman, Gen Salim Saleh.

Gen Salim Saleh, while meeting members of the Police Advisory Committee at Namunkekeera in Kapeere, Nakaseke District recently, said the biggest challenge to investors in the city is traffic jam.

With additional reports from The Monitor