A car accident on the Masaka-Mbarara highway on Friday evening took the lives of nine people.
According to reports, the survivors of the accident were moved to several health facilities in Masaka to receive emergency treatment. The accident occurred around 4 pm on Friday in Kyoko village, Lwengo district.
The accident occurred in the neglected blackspot on the Masaka-Mbarara highway, where a lot of collisions have occurred over the past few years.
An Alpha car from Kampala traveling towards Mbarara City and an approaching fuel tanker traveling in the opposite direction on an ascending lane from the Mbarara side collided head-on at Kyoko Village at 4 o’clock.
Traffic police Friday night blamed irresponsible driving as the reason for the accident that resulted in the injuries of two additional people. According to the testimonies from the eyewitnesses, police concluded the collision was a result of the driver’s irresponsible driving.
According to reports, a motor vehicle with the license place UBL 314C, an Alphard, traveling from Kampala’s west side towards Mbarara, and a motor vehicle with the license plate SSD 327S/SSD 137Q, traveling from Mbarara/Kinoni town were both engaged in the collision. The accident that occurred was a head-on accident between two motor vehicles.
According to preliminary investigations, the Alphard driver was traveling quickly and was keeping to the right rather than the left.
According to traffic police spokesperson ASP Faridah Nampiima, nine persons died instantly after the Alphard driver collided head-on with the fuel truck.
According to her, all of the dead were passengers on the tragic Alphard. In a statement, Nampiima said that there were two children and seven adults among the dead.
The fuel tanker’s driver and his turn man both suffered injuries, and they were taken urgently to the regional referral hospital in Masaka for care. Further investigations into the incident are in progress, and more information will be made available soon.
ASP Nampiima stated that they want to take the opportunity to caution all drivers coming upcountry for Easter celebrations to drive cautiously and avoid speeding, using cell phones while driving, driving after drinking, and all other road indiscipline that results in accidents.
According to reports, the area of the Friday collision is a well-known dead zone where roughly ten individuals died similarly in late December 2022.
The regional traffic officer for Greater Masaka, SP Richard Komaketch, had earlier briefed reports on the scene. He said that this location had been a trouble spot for them. It’s where they have numerous registered accidents. A steep incline and nearly 300-meter-long curve lead to the collision. Hence, there is a limit on speed here.
According to the annual crime reports 2022, which were published a month ago, there were 20,394 road accidents reported in the nation. In 2022 it was 17, 443.
According to authorities, there were 22 fatalities for every 100 collisions, and reckless driving was to blame for 61% of all accidents.
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Masaka-Mbarara Highway: The Black Spot
Black spots, sometimes known as dark spots, are locations where accidents have happened more than three times. Blind corners or exceptionally long and tight segments can be black spots.
There could also be high hills that make it difficult or impossible for a driver to see vehicles in the oncoming lane when making an overtake. Even at crossroads, there may be black spots.
Masaka-Mbarara highway in Lwengo District in central Uganda is one such black spot where several accidents have occurred.
The grisly accident that claimed nine lives in Kyoko village of Lwengo district on Friday happened at a blackspot. According to the residents from the Lwengo district, the accident that happened on Friday was the seventh road collision registered in the area since October of last year.
Two families were compelled to relocate due to frequent accidents after a caravan struck their homes at the same locations six months before.
The country has several black spots on its highways and all of them remain as death traps to consume the life of the people.
The majority of the collisions in such black spots were due to irresponsible driving. Even so, there is evidence that suggests that emergency medical care could save many lives.
The District Health Officer in Tororo, Dr. Obbo Okoth, said that they are helpless sometimes when it comes to dealing with emergencies. The lack of medical facilities and manpower in several areas is one of the reasons behind the deaths of the accident victims even though they were taken to the hospital before dying.
To avoid recurring accidents in these accident-prone black spots in the nation, people need to have complete awareness about the road and the ways they are traveling through. You need to follow the traffic rules set in such areas to prevent accidents.
Do complete research and be aware of the roads and signs ahead of you while driving. Driving carefully at a limited speed is the primary way to avoid these collisions and save your life.
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