As schools begin breaking off for the holiday, the Uganda Police Force, through the Directorate of Traffic and Road Safety, is reminding school administrators, transport operators, drivers, parents, guardians and students to prioritise safety during school transportation.
We are aware that some schools use buses to transport students to designated pick-up points, where they are collected by their parents or guardians. All such journeys must comply with the law and existing road safety guidelines.
Accordingly, we remind all school administrators and transport operators that:
1. School buses operating outside their usual authorised routes must obtain the necessary permission from the Ministry of Works and Transport.
2. All vehicles must have valid inspection reports and comply with all applicable vehicle inspection requirements.
3. School transport journeys must be undertaken between 6:00am and 6:00pm.
4. Vehicles must have all mandatory documentation and requirements, including valid PSV documentation, PMO, driver badges, valid driving licences and any other applicable documents.
5. Drivers must strictly observe all traffic laws and regulations. They must not engage in speeding, dangerous overtaking, overloading, dangerous loading, reckless driving or any other traffic violations.
6. Any other vehicles used to transport students, other than the designated school buses, must be mechanically sound, properly licensed and operated in full compliance with all traffic regulations and applicable safety requirements.
7. All journeys transporting students must be undertaken between 6:00am and 6:00pm, in accordance with the applicable road safety requirements.
Any person found violating these requirements will be arrested and prosecuted in accordance with the law and existing guidelines.
The responsibility for protecting children on our roads rests with all of us. School owners and administrators, transport operators, drivers, parents and guardians must each play their part in ensuring that children are transported safely.
We emphasise that any clearance or permission granted for a journey should not be treated as a substitute for compliance with road safety requirements. All vehicles must remain roadworthy, properly licensed and operated by qualified and compliant drivers.
The Directorate of Traffic and Road Safety will continue to conduct intelligence-led and targeted enforcement operations to ensure that vehicles transporting children are safe, roadworthy and operated in accordance with the law.
Our priority remains the protection of life.
We therefore urge everyone involved in school transportation to comply with the law and put the safety of children first. Where there is non-compliance, the law will take its course.
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