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ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF SPEED REDUCTION MEASURES ON IMPROVING ROAD SAFETY AT TRADING CENTERS IN KAMPALA

Road transport is the dominant mode of transport in Uganda and accounts for over 90% of cargo freight and passenger movement. In the last decade, greater Kampala metropolitan area has contributed to half of all road crashes in Uganda, with 22% of fatal crashes occurring in the city. However, in 2016 this figure fell to 44% of all crashes and to 19% of all fatalities occurring in the city. The police report attributes this high crash rate mainly to reckless driving and congestion. (United Nations, 2018). Accidents in Uganda have claimed a great number of people’s lives, left others helpless and disabled with severe injuries. According to Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), Uganda has about 600,000 registered vehicles 60% of which ply the roads in Kampala alone. The high number of vehicles coupled with the annual average population growth rate of 3% (UBOS, 2018) has led to the sprouting of Trading Centers along the roads in Kampala. This has led to an increase in the number of accidents as cited in a World Health Organisation report on road safety in 2018 that listed Uganda as one of the countries with the highest traffic death rates estimated at 29 car deaths per 100,000 population (WHO, 2018). This research was conducted to assess the impact of speed reduction measures on improving road safety at Trading Centers in Kampala. An observation schedule was used to establish the extent to which these speed reduction measures exist along Trading Centers in Kampala and 44% was representative of the extent to which these measures exist. Estimating the level of compliance to these measures was done by analyzing speeds for 100 vehicles at each of the trading centers where the speed reduction measures were present. The Accident Severity Index was then calculated and compared to the percentage adherence and it was noted that in places where the adherence was high, the number of vehicle accidents recorded was lower than that recorded at those trading centers with low adherence or compliance to speed reduction measures. The frequency of accidents with and without these measures was done by collecting secondary data from police stations across Kampala. This data showed that trading centers without speed reduction measures have a higher number of accidents than those where these measures are present. Key Words: Speed Reduction measures, Trading Centers, Accidents, Road Safety

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Author: namirembe patricia n.k
Contributed by: asbat digital library
Institution: makerere university
Level: university
Sublevel: under-graduate
Type: dissertations