Road safety advocate, Mr. Joseph Beyanga commonly known as Joe Walker is set to walk from Kampala to Mbale on February 6, 2023, to raise awareness about the increasing road crashes in the country and how Ugandans can avoid them.
Under the theme Joe Walker and Friends, “Too Young To Die”, Beyanga says various activities will be carried out during the walk including; road user sensitization, road safety education through community interactions, school visits, media engagements, painting zebra crossing points and erection of road signs among others.
While speaking to journalists on Friday, Beyanga underscored the need for road users to be careful while on the road, further revealing that an average of more than 12 people die per day in road accidents in Uganda, translating to more than 4,000 deaths annually.
“When you look at the statistics, you discover that up to 32% are people aged below 25. So a nation that is looking at developing and growing losing the most productive part of the labour force, something that is not pleasant,” Beyanga said on Friday while unveiling his second road safety awareness campaign.
On his part, Bonny Tamale, the Brand Manager of NTV Uganda lauded Beyanga for his efforts against reckless driving and other bad road user behaviors that have claimed thousands of lives. Tamale further rallied Ugandas to join Beyanga in a bid to reduce the number of lives lost daily due to road crashes.
“Road safety is not a brand-specific issue, it is a national issue. As Nationa Media Group, we are pleased to partner with you, Joe. I’m very appreciative of other elephants that are standing together with Joe in this walk,” Tamale said.
Meanwhile, Beyanga encouraged other people to walk in their homes, and other parts of the country if they cannot join him on the Kampala-Mbale walk. He urged them to share their moments on social media to raise more awareness about road safety.
Besides watching their road user behavior, Beyanga challenged Ugandans to inspect their vehicles before setting off for a journey.
On February 28, 2022, Beyanga and friends walked 342km from Kampala to Bushenyi
in a road safety awareness walk dubbed “Joe Walker and Friends – Safe Roads, Save Lives”.
Beyanga also doubles as the Secretary-General, National Association of Broadcasters( NAB) and Head of Radio at Nation Media Group – Uganda.
