Boda Boda cyclists account for the biggest number of accidents on Ugandan roads and there was need to regulate them.
This was revealed by the Traffic Police Spokesperson ASP Faridah Nampiima in a statement dated 2nd November 2022 following a CCTV footage that was released by police highlighting graphic details of accidents involving Boda Boda cyclists, which left Ugandans with mixed feelings.
Nampiima explained that many Boda Boda cyclists lacked basic road rules and regulations knowledge.
“Boda Bodas have become a big challenge on our roads. Every time we have five crashes on the road, four of them involve motorcycles and many people die”, she noted.
It was from this statement that she announced operations on Errant Boda Bodas.
She highlighted that the operations were to target mainly Boda Bodas to enforce wearing of reflector jackets, crash helmets, carrying more than one passenger and third party insurance among others.
On Monday 7th November 2022 Police started an operation to crack down reckless Boda Boda riders in Uganda’s capital, Kampala and across the country which saw riders without reflector jackets, insurance and helmets arrested and surrendered their motorcycles to police officers.
According to Police updates on 9th November on their official Twitter account “Uganda Police Force, @policeug”, Police announced that they had already impounded 6,374 motorcycles country-wide in the last two days”. “A total number of 4,926 EPS tickets were issued to offenders while 1,448 motorcycles are pending at the stations.
“This operation continues. We would like to thank the general public for their support. We equally thank the riders who have complied”, the statement read.
In what seems to be a curse to the riders has turned out to be an opportunity for the advertisers.
In our survey around Kampala city, our findings show that, of 10 riders wearing reflector jackets, 6/10 are wearing jackets with Brands printed on their back and/or front.
Companies like Prudential, Manda, Stabex, and many others have turned rushed out to this opportunity.
A number of Boda Boda cyclists reached to commend the said companies for coming to their rescue and helping them meet the police guidelines on Boda Bodas, we are so grateful.
Whether these companies/ organisations are achieving their intended Marketing objectives or not, that’s a question for another day. But at least it’s giving them some a mile of visibility/awareness.
Asaba James is an Economist, Journalist and a proprietor in the advertising industry. I help businesses change the way they are seen or identified.
Email: asaba@vaito.co.ug
