Day Five: Let’s do the right thing
Migyera town never sleeps; loud music and prayers blared on all night long on Thursday night. As we set out at 5:45am on day five of #JoeWalker Kampala to Gulu road safety awareness walk, Migyera was still happening. The power blackout had nothing on them. I wonder if the party was because of the numerous truck trailers parked on both sides of the road.
Fitted with our headlights, and powered up by the early morning cool breeze, Migyera town was soon in our past. Unlike all the previous towns, we met very few school children. But consistent with other towns, many speeding cars flew by as well as a number of motorcycles, most without lights.
As the darkness peeled away, it hit us that the road littered with growing potholes is mute; there were no markings or signs. Let me hope that’s not the reason for speeding and reckless overtaking in corners.
Today we were blessed with a slightly cooler morning and we made the most of it, we were cruising. By 11am, we’re already in Nakitooma, 25km from Migeera. As we strolled into the trading centre, we saw most probably, the first road signs. When we exited the town, we also crossed the first Traffic Police checkpoint where we met the OC Traffic Sgt. David. As all the others, he re-echoed the enforcement challenges on this road including the narrow road. He says the standard road dimensions ought to be at least 7 metres but the Gulu highway is only 6 metres wide.
That said, he shared a great piece of heartwarming news, road crashes involving buses have greatly reduced on his stretch. Since the year 2025 began they have registered ONLY ONE which he calls a big reduction. He attributes this to awareness engagements with bus drivers and operators.
With that piece of good news, I stepped on with a renewed spring of optimism that we can actually write a better story of road safety if each one of us chooses to do the right thing.
Your actions and mine can make our roads safe and save lives.
