Thank
you to our friends at the International Bicycle Fund
for providing and maintaining this web site.Pan Africa Bicycle Information Network (PABIN)
Drivers Don't Know How to Use Brakes to Avoid Bicyclists
Kampala Monitor, November 2, 2002
"The Town Clerk of Kampala, Gordon Mwesigye, is talking tough about boda bodas (small motorcycle 'taxis'). He gave the boda boda riders a last chance to register, or else their bikes will be impounded. The number, and importance of Boda bodas in Kampala and other towns have grown to the extent that it is now impossible to imagine what life used to be like without them. However the success of the boda boda industry is also becoming its worst enemy. Because they are so many, they are crowding the roads and making travel riskier for themselves, the people they carry, and car drivers.
"Dangerous as they might be, boda bodas do not pose the biggest new risk on the streets. It is the bicycles. They are overloaded with heavy sacks, and it is common for the rider and the goods he is carrying to crash and spill on the road. Apart from their not having flashing items to make them stand out, some of these bicycles sometimes carry wood or metal bars that are 12 feet long. Either motorists run into, or while avoiding them, hit other vehicles. This problem must also be dealt with. The longer the Town Clerk waits, the sooner Kampala will become unsuited to be the nation's capital."
Thank
you to our friends at the International Bicycle Fund
for providing and maintaining this web site.