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By Mulengera Reporters
The Ministry of Works and Transport (MoWT) has put motorists across the country on notice and full alert following the official rolling out of the Electronic Penalty System (EPSAuto), a new traffic enforcement tool under the Intelligent Transport Monitoring System (ITMS).
Working hand in hand with Uganda Police, MoWT confirmed that the camera-based system is now active and already issuing digital tickets to drivers caught over-speeding or running red lights.
The new development marks a major step in the government’s ongoing efforts to reduce accidents, make our roads safer and save lives while bringing order on Uganda’s roads through the use of modern technology.
According to Ayesiga Priscah Pearl, the Public Relations Officer at ITMS, the system operates 24 hours a day and automatically captures violations without the need for a traffic officer to stop a vehicle.
She explained that EPSAuto is now live under the Intelligent Transport Monitoring System and called upon all road users, especially motorists and boda boda riders, to obey traffic rules, adding that if you respect the law, you will not be penalized.
The system is currently focusing on speeding and red light violations, targeting all vehicles regardless of whether they have digital number plates or the older types. Only vehicles on emergency duty, such as ambulances, are exempt.
When a driver is caught breaking the law, the system automatically notifies the control room managed by Uganda Police, and a digital ticket is sent directly to the vehicle owner’s mobile phone.
Allan Ssempebwa, the Senior Communications Officer at MoWT, said the goal is not to harass motorists, but to encourage discipline and reduce the number of lives lost on the roads every year.
“This system is here to help, not punish. If someone drives recklessly, over-speeds or jumps a red light, EPSAuto will pick it and a ticket will follow. It’s that simple,” he said noting that Uganda loses over 5,000 people every year to road crashes. Many of these are caused by over-speeding, careless overtaking and other avoidable mistakes.
The 2024 Annual Crime Report by Uganda Police showed that speeding alone accounts for 44.5% of all road deaths in the country. In total, Uganda recorded over 25,000 crashes last year.
EPSAuto is just one component of the broader ITMS, a national project launched by government to modernize traffic enforcement, improve public safety and fight vehicle-related crime.
ITMS includes several features such as digital number plates with in-built tracking, CCTV road cameras, real-time vehicle monitoring and automatic violation detection and ticketing. All these tools are controlled from a central command centre where traffic officers can monitor road activity across the country.
Some road users have welcomed the system but also advised government to improve road signage and make speed limits more visible, especially along busy highways and urban centres.
One concerned motorist in Ntinda said via X (formerly Twitter) that this has been long overdue, urging that as government rolls this out, they should also work on road signs and make them more visible, because many of them are hidden or faded, especially in towns.
Authorities have acknowledged this feedback and say efforts are underway to update traffic signs, especially in school zones, markets and high-risk areas where the speed limit is as low as 30km/h.
Government officials have hinted that more features will be added to the system in phases, including enforcement of reckless overtaking, illegal parking and lane indiscipline.
The public is now being reminded that with EPSAuto, the idea is not to wait for a police officer by the roadside, but about staying compliant all the time because the cameras are always watching.
The Ministry says that it is committed to building safer, more disciplined roads for all Ugandans, motorists, pedestrians and passengers alike. As the system continues to roll out across the country, motorists are urged to stay alert, obey road signs, reduce speed and drive with care, because the cameras may not speak, but they never sleep. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
