Deputy Speaker Tayebwa to flag off Kampala-Mbale walk
The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Thomas Tayebwa will on Monday, February 6, 2023, flag off the Kampala-Mbale road safety awareness walk at the Independence Monument in Kampala.
Under the theme “Joe Walker and Friends – Too Young To Die”, the walk is spearheaded by Joseph Beyanga commonly known as Joe Walker, the Head of Radio at Nation Media Group – Uganda and Secretary-General, National Association of Broadcasters (NAB).
We believe the walk is more than just a walk due to the pool of activities lined up including road user sensitization and road safety education and awareness through, community interactions, school visits, media engagements, painting zebra crossing points and erection of road signs among others.
An average of more than 12 people die per day in road accidents in Uganda, translating to more than 4,000 deaths annually. These crashes are mainly caused by acts attributed to reckless and careless driving and riding behavior. We can all do more in our capacities to reduce these deaths.
The walk slated for Monday February 6th will ride on the success that the first walk achieved. Joe Walker and friends on 28th February 2022, walked 342km from Kampala to Bushenyi in a road safety awareness walk dubbed “Joe Walker and Friends – Safe Roads, Save Lives”. During the walk, which was widely covered by the media, different categories of road users were engaged on issues of road safety including boda-boda riders, roadside communities, school children, law enforcers and policy makers.
The impact of the walk showed increased awareness, discussion of road crashes on media platforms, renewed strict law enforcement of traffic laws, and crackdown on errant drivers and boda-boda riders. This is why we are taking up a second walk, knowing that each step will help us increase awareness.
The “Joe Walker and Friends” road safety walks are part of an effort towards a national and global effort to reduce road traffic death by 50% by 2030 as declared by the UN General Assembly in September 2020.
Joe Walker and Friends, “Too Young To Die” is supported by UNRA, Uganda Police, Coca-Cola, Jubilee Allianz, Nation Media Group, Road Safety Alliance, Plascon, and TUGENDE among others.
