The Traffic Police Directorate collected 41 billion shillings in penalties in 2023 according to the report that has been released by Senior Commissioner of Police –SCP Lawrence Niwabiine the acting director.
Nuwabiine’s report shows that 528, 027 tickets were issued to drivers and motorcyclists for driving vehicles in dangerous mechanical conditions, careless driving, riding without crash helmets, driving without a valid driving permit and obstruction on a road by loading or offloading.
The issued out tickets were worth 41.4 billion shillings but 421.3 million shillings were never paid by the traffic offenders.
However, road safety experts have given divergent opinions on the huge amount of money collected from traffic offenders.
Susan Tumuhairwe, the programs coordinator at Safe Way Right Way (SWRW), believes that the penalties can enable drivers and riders to become responsible and careful road users.
Fredrick Kiapi, the project manager of Hope for Victims of Traffic Accidents (HOVITA) argues that traffic penalties have very little to contribute to road safety.