Assessing the accident blackspots and the safety measures along Kampala-Hoima road from Northern by-pass to Hoima town, a distance of 190 km

Abstract

This report describes the findings of a research study to assess the accident blackspots and the safety measures along Kampala-Hoima road from Northern by-pass to Hoima town a distance of 190 km. The data used in the assessment included; road traffic accident records, field identification of accident blackspots, road speed profiles, hourly traffic volumes, road alignment data and interviews of the road users. The following is a summary of major observations made during the research.  Road length and travel duration: Kampala- Hoima is about 190 km and it takes an average of 200 minutes to cover the distance at an average speed of 75 km/hr. throughout the route.  Traffic volumes per hour: The section between Northern By-Pass and Nansana has hourly traffic volumes in each direction between 350 to 400 vehicles per hour. The section between Nansana and Busunju has more than 200 vehicles per hour in each direction and a comparable volume of motor cycles. Beyond Busunju, the average hourly traffic volume decreases to below 100 vehicles per hour in each of the two directions.  Alignment hazards: the road is characterised by a wavy alignment with many steep slopes and sharp horizontal curves (bends). These have a great impact on the performance of heavy and long vehicles (trucks and buses). The alignment limits the available sight distance to the driver especially at night.  Roadside activity hazards by route: Traffic accident data from Uganda Police Force shows that accidents along Kampala-Hoima road occur at trading centres and major towns. The accidents involve collisions between transit vehicles and pedestrians or motorcyclists. Kampala-Hoima road has 35 trading centres most of which have speed humps although not visible especially at night or foggy weather.  Road Pavement Condition by Route: Kampala-Hoima has poor road surface between Kampala and Busunju, and a good asphalt concrete surface between Busunju and Hoima. It is difficult to attain speeds more than 60 km/h along this road due to a combination of poor road surface, high roadside activity and high traffic volumes. Rehabilitation works to restore good driving surface on Nansana-Busunju Road section commenced in August 2015. It was not possible to establish whether the rehabilitation works also involve expansion of capacity constrained sections of Northern-By Pass to Nansana, and Nansana to Wakiso sections.