Hi Wnnie Thanks for raising this point on speed governors. Last year in october some members expressed concern which I want to read together with you. The highlighted expressions are done by me to see points raised and need our attention:
On October 26, 2010 our brother Jimmy Awuzu had this to share: Dear all, Can someone please remind me of what happened to *Speed** Governors*? They seem to have faded out of the Police/Transport Licensing Board vocabulary. In some of our neighboring countries, long distance Busses *have two drivers and the co-driver takes over after some hours into the journey*. Is it too expensive for our Bus operators to implement the same? It is a fact that the *consumption of intoxicating drugs* like Mairungi, Quat, Goro, Bhang, Weed, Sniff (They come in different names and guises) affect decision making and concentration hours after taking/administering it *and it is common knowledge and practice that our drivers do partake of these in varying amounts and degrees.* Can I suggest that those of us who have good relationship with these service providers to prevail on them to vet their drivers for drug use? And finally, *there are now private companies that do undertake Health and Safety training* for various sectors of our economy, and also *Defensive driving*. Time to bring these measures aboard. God bless us all as we travel. On the same day our sister Gen Munduru (a day after she joined WNN had this to share: 1 *- The speed governors are only useful if we are sure that the people concerned will put them into full & good use*. I recall that during the time when they were first put in place, if the traffic policeman checked & saw it in place, the driver would be clean......needless to say that *some of these speed governors were just in place & not even working*, & knowing that they were mainly products from countries like Japan, China i can't be sure of the quality. 2 - Is it too expensive for bus operators to *have two drivers on long distance routes*? This is relative......From a financial point of view, no. Two drivers simply means the same pay but divided by two per head. But tell me which Ugandan bus driver is gonna accept half what he usually earns just because his employer is "too cowardly" to take a chance on that very low probability that the bus will arrive safely at the destination. Then seen in another light, *there is nothing, no amount of money that can replace a human life, let alone 20 lives (we may have stopped counting by now since the accidents are so often & the victims so many...).* So the word *"compensation" should not even be part of our vocabulary!* If only our people were more open-minded & realised *that investing in a good/reliable means of transport + recruiting as many drivers as it takes to ensure safe journeys to the travellers is a more lucrative investment than having to pay fines for corpses then we'd be on the right road.* As long as we *remain in that shadow, looking for short-lived solutions we're just marking time!* 3 - Then I also noticed that many comments are suggesting*, "if any of you know some people......" Let's not lie to ourselves, In Uganda to get places you need to "know people", but for how long?* All these issues boil down to the kind of political situation our country is in. *We have laws that are not respected, we have laws that apparently any Tom, Dick & Harry can bend to his convenience,* so is it really a shock that we are where we are today? *We need a change in mentality, we need good governance, we need honest citizens who are ready to be upright and stand for what they believe in!* *We may pray as much as we want & I believe that prayer can move mountains but I think we have been sleeping for so long we need to wake up!* The our brother Caleb Alaka added his voice: I understand *the quality of speed governors imported were so poor that mere passage of a bus in water or rain would destroy the sensors of the Speed Governors.* That apart, the truth of the matter is that *most of these accidents are caused as a result of sheer human mistakes coupled with primitiveness.* The two leading *service providers do not cooperate*. For *instance if one dismisses an errant driver, the other gladly employs him even on better terms.* Each operator has a schedule of traveling, however as soon as these buses are on the road, a *primitive competition* *of who would reach first begins*. You find one bus from a 'competing' operator has stopped with a double indicator, the other one just overtakes without finding out why his colleague has stopped in the end the one overtaking rums into something. Any way we met the owners of the two leading operators and discussed with them some of these points. *One seems to appreciate the need for them to cooperate and iron out the meaningless competition but the other is still uncooperative*. But we shall continue to *press for the needed reforms*. Before thy day ended, our brother Emmanuel Odravu Matua said: Members of the WNF, whereas I add my voice to yours in extending our condolences to the grieved families of West Nile; I also would wish to *condemn the well observed carelessness on the part of the drivers, the primitive competition on the part of the proprietors in the strongest terms possible.* Members, though somewhat busy, I have followed the contributions you've made and I think *we are the voice of the voiceless and coming together under the umbrella of the forum gives us the collective mandate to seek the audience of whoever matters in issues affecting us as a community.* In this case we *are duty bound to find a lasting solution to this evil* which is constantly depriving us of the love, support and care of departed relatives, friends and inlaws. Bravo Alaka and others who already made efforts to dialogue with the concerned parties; I think we *should examine alternative approaches of causing the parties to consider life and service before the money* they seem to be over focusing on (basis of the primitive competition). Keep the *"fire burning"* a true symbol of mourning in West Nile. Are there any points to add to these to see that they are presented to the right authorities and we NEED CHANGE and more responsibility from those who serve passengers on the bus companies? r -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.
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