Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) launched the “Kampala Festive Season Speeding campaign” aimed at reducing speeding. The campaign, seeking to show the deadly harms of exceeding speed limits, is Kampala city’s first under the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS) partnership.
“This much-needed campaign aims to illustrate the dangers of speeding to road users. We are confident that the Public Service Announcements, in combination with rigorous police enforcement, will help deter risky road user behaviour, and will make Kampala’s roads safer for motorists, pedestrians and passengers, thus preventing deaths and severe injuries that plague our city.” Kampala City Mayor Erias Lukwago
Speeding is a leading risk factor that contributes to traffic crashes, as it impacts both the likelihood
of a crash and its severity when it occurs.
This city-level speeding campaign, developed with technical support from Vital Strategies, an international public health organisation and BIGRS partner, and in collaboration with Safe Way Right Way, seeks to improve road safety behaviour through improving knowledge and changing
social attitudes and norms.
KCCA Executive Director Dorothy Kisaka noted that the campaign is a collaboration between
enforcement, academia, state and non-state actors and development partners seeking to show
the impact of collective responsibility in advancing road safety.
“The timing of the campaign is ideal given increased travel and sadly, increased crash related
carnage and injuries that come with the festive season.”
According to the World Health Organization, road traffic crashes kill nearly 1.3 million people and injure up to 50 million more around the world. In Uganda, approximately 3,500 people die on Uganda’s roads in crashes, and Kampala City loses close to 300 lives per year on average with almost 50% recorded among bodaboda cyclists.
The Kampala Annual Road Safety Report 2019/2020 reveals that vulnerable road users — pedestrians, motorcyclists, and bicyclists — accounted for 92% and 94% of deaths in 2019 and 2020 respectively. Motorcyclists alone accounted for 48% and 46% of the reported deaths in 2019 and 2020, respectively. The highest number of deaths and serious injuries in 2019 and 2020 occurred among those aged 20 to 29 years. To reduce these numbers, this campaign targets male motorcycle drivers between the ages of 18 and 45.
PRESS RELEASE
The Kampala Festive Season speeding campaign will air on television, radio, outdoor and social media for four weeks to graphically illustrate the severe consequences resulting from speeding. The campaign will run through the festive season (December-January) and is coordinated with enforcement options.
“The Kampala Festive Season Speeding Campaign was developed after data review and rigorous research into the types of messages that resonate with those who most commonly speed in Kampala,” said Asmeret Nigus Technical Advisor, Africa, Road Safety Program, of Vital Strategies.
“We are proud to support Kampala City in their efforts to save lives on the roads. Mass media campaigns, such as this one, are a key part of a holistic approach to road safety that can save lives.”
About the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety: The Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS) works with the world’s leading road safety organisations to implement road safety activities and coordinate with incountry governmental and non-governmental stakeholders. BIGRS places an emphasis on achieving outcomes, and on using high-quality monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to continually assess progress.
