Ultimate Guide to Driving in Uganda

Driving in Uganda is interesting but a bit more challenging than other East Africa and Southern Africa countries. If you are looking to a self driven tour through Uganda, you need to be cautious in planning your next adventure! By East African standards, Uganda major roads are generally in good condition. Surfaced roads radiate out from Kampala, running east to bigger towns like Jinja, Busia, Mbarara Tororo, Mbale and Soroti, south to Entebbe, southwest to Masaka, northwest.

Be in the Know

• Despite the above, Uganda’s unsurfaced roads tend to be very variable from one season to the other with conditions likely to be most hard during the rain. You definitely need to be a defensive driver in circumstances when buses and minibus-taxis are around as their drivers are crazy. You will be overtaken by big buses carrying over 70 passengers travelling at excessive speeds.
• Keep an eye in the rear-view driving mirror and if necessary pull off the road in advance to let the closing loony pass. You have to know that most roads encounter a lot of traffic jam especially in the rash hours like morning and evening hours so balance your driving time to do away with this.
• You must have the following documents when driving in Uganda. This will make you have a soft and smooth drive while on the Ugandan roads. The vehicle registration book (a photocopy is acceptable, ensure it’s a recent one with the most recent vehicle license entry recorded at the back page), A minimum statutory Third Party Insurance Coverage Certificate, sticker and a driving license.
• For foreigners intending to travel to East Africa, your own domestic license is acceptable for up to three months. After three months of your stay in Uganda, you should get Ugandan license. The speed of 80k/h in the open road would be comfortable without being over cautious, and it’s not a bad idea to slow down and cover the brake in the face of oncoming traffic.
• In town especially Kampala, you are just centimeters from other vehicles, traffic laws exist. Please be aware that on busy streets, people and Boda Boda come from any direction of the road. These can pose a big challenge to new drivers on the road. Therefore keep enough distance.
• Driving is on the left hand side in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania while in Rwanda and Burundi, we drive on the right had side. If you are to pass a slower moving car, indicate to the right and the car in front will typically move in when possible.
• A GPS is very important. You can come with one from your home country, loaded with East Africa maps, or you can obtain one with your Uganda car rental. Most car rental agencies hire a GPS at US$3/day. A GPS will help you with road directions and speed limits. Road Maps are very important so make sure you get updated travel road maps. These are sometimes offered with the car, or you can buy from shopping malls and Bookshops. Always double check your route before you begin your journey and get a general picture of the route especially in south western part of the country.
• Because most Ugandan roads are hilly, climbing lanes are often available and there are many large trucks and Lorries moving slowly. Use climbing lanes to pass trucks and slow-moving cars when going uphill. Likewise, If your car moves slowly than the traffic, move into the left lane to let traffic overtake. Once you pass another driver on highways, a flash of the hazard lights suffices as a thank you. Ugandan drivers are very friendly and you will usually be greeted by a friendly flash of their headlights. It’s a friendly sign so don’t be afraid when it first happens.

What to Avoid

The number one rule is to avoid driving at night whenever possible. In Uganda, there are no street lights on highways and sometime visibility is poor with only head lamps. More so, some Uganda roads, including major highways have no fluorescent line markings, thus making driving after dark very difficult because it is difficult to see the road. Some places are not safe at night, with highway robbers and outside Kampala, there are lots of people walking and running on hard shoulders after dark.