Government to Roll Out Biometric Driver Monitoring System to Improve Road Safety

The government is developing a new digital system aimed at improving road safety by tracking drivers and reducing road crashes across the country.

The move follows a series of fatal accidents, including the July 16 bus crash along the Kapchorwa–Mbale Road that claimed the lives of 24 pupils from King David Junior School, Kaserem. A week earlier, a bus carrying students and teachers from Mwebaze High School collided with a train at the Namumira railway crossing in Mukono, killing one person and injuring many others, prompting the government to suspend all school educational trips.

The Commissioner for Transport Regulation and Safety at the Ministry of Works and Transport, Mr. Winstone Katushabe, said authorities discovered that many drivers work excessively long hours without adequate rest, increasing the risk of accidents.

He said the new biometric-based system is currently in its testing phase and is designed to monitor driver fatigue, speed, and compliance with rest requirements.

“We are introducing a system with biometric logins to help us monitor driver fatigue and speeding,” Mr. Katushabe said on Thursday during an inspection of Kisenyi Bus Terminal in Kampala.

He was leading a joint team from the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) and the Directorate of Traffic and Road Safety during a routine operation to monitor compliance with transport regulations.

Under the new system, drivers will be required to log in biometrically before beginning their journeys. Bus owners, terminal managers, and police officers will be trained to use the system.

“Verification at police checkpoints will be done through biometric check-ins. For example, if a driver leaves Kampala at 9:00 a.m., we do not expect them to reach Lukaya by 10:00 a.m., as that would indicate speeding,” Mr. Katushabe explained.

“The system will also show if a driver has just completed a trip from Mbale to Kampala and then attempts to drive immediately to Kisoro instead of resting. This will help us address fatigue, improve driver behaviour, control speeding, and enhance passenger safety,” he added.

Mr. Katushabe said the Ministry has already met with KCCA leadership and agreed that buses should only load passengers from officially gazetted bus parks rather than unauthorized loading points.

He noted that the operation was prompted by public complaints and recent bus crashes involving operators that lacked route charts, Passenger Service Vehicle (PSV) licences, and other mandatory requirements.

“We inspected several buses and found that some did not meet the required standards. Some drivers fled during the operation, while brokers were seen fighting over passengers at the terminal entrance,” he said.

He also raised concerns over poor passenger management, noting that in some cases passengers were placed on one bus while their luggage was loaded onto another, and children were separated from their parents during boarding.

The inspection also uncovered cases of brokers allegedly issuing fake tickets. As a result, Mr. Katushabe directed all bus companies to deploy uniformed guides to improve order and accountability.

Mr. Saturday Muhwezi, the General Manager of Kisenyi Bus Terminal, said the terminal has established a seven-member committee that will assign two uniformed guides to every bus to help eliminate the activities of errant brokers.