Traffic in Kampala

Kampala is a city of approximately 1.6 million people and it seems that there are very few roads which pass through this city.  As such, the traffic here is horrendous.  The last time I sat in traffic like this I was approaching Los Angeles from the Pacific Coast Highway.  However, on that occasion we were on a major freeway and the traffic consisted solely of motorized vehicles all headed in the same direction.  When one enters Kampala one must be alert to the movements of cars, trucks, taxis (actually mini-vans that carry about 15 people), boda bodas (small motorcycles), bicycles, pedestrians, even livestock!  I observed only one set of traffic lights and they were not followed.  Each time we went through this major intersection it seemed that it was on a red light.  During the busiest times of day traffic police direct traffic and one can sit and wait for 20 minutes or more.  At other times, merging into streams of traffic takes an aggressive driving strategy and nerves of steel!  If I were to try and drive there I would not get past the first intersection.  Despite this daily mayhem we only observed three accidents.  The first was a truck that had overturned and the other two were boda boda collisions.  The first seemed minor and the bikes were simply picked up and the riders continued on their way.  The second however, involved a collision with a pedestrian and was quite upsetting to watch.  The woman who was hit picked herself up and walked off the road  to collapse on the side.  Police came before we left the scene but it was speculated that the woman likely could not afford to go to the hospital.  Here are some pictures of typical forms of transportation and I have also uploaded a youtube clip to give you a sense of what it feels like to be in traffic in Kampala.  It is described as "light traffic" and I agree.  We drove in much worse!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWMehc_OaDc

One of many pedestrians.  Many women carry their loads on their heads.  What balance!

Imagine transporting this load on your bike!

Trucks, taxis and boda bodas, oh my!