President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has signed into law the Traffic and Road Safety Amendment Bill 2023 increasing the fine from Shs200,000 to Shs2m for motorists driving beyond the prescribed speed limit.

According to the government, the move is intended to restore sanity and reduce on-road carnage on Uganda’s roads.

The revelation was made yesterday during the parliamentary sitting presided over by the speaker of parliament Ms Anita Among.

According to the law, motorists who agree to pay the fine as issued through the Express Penalty Scheme (EPS) will pay Shs200,000, but the penalty is higher (Shs2m) for those who oppose the fine and opt for courts and are found guilty.

In the 2022 Annual Crime Report by Uganda Police, about 336,722 traffic offences were registered, of which 6,123 cases were against motorists driving beyond the prescribed speed limit. Police also issued 456,993 tickets for various traffic offences valued at Shs38.585bn.

Uganda reported 20,394 road crashes in 2022, of which 3,901 were fatal, 10,776 were serious and 5,717 were minor. The number of serious crashes increase by 16.9 per cent from 3,757 in 2021 while minor crashes increased from 4,616.

Overall, the report indicates a 17 per cent increase in the number of crashes reported in 2022 from 17,443 crashes in 2021 to 20,394 crashes in 2022.

In addition to the Traffic and Road Safety (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2023, the President assented to five other bills recently passed by Parliament.

They include the Appropriation Act, 2023, the Value Added Tax (Amendment) Act, 2023(1/2), the Lotteries and Gaming (Amendment) Act, 2023, the Conventional on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters(Implementation) Act, 2023 and the Supplementary Appropriation Act, 2023.