4 Things to Ensure After Securing a Rental Car at EBB Airport
After securing your car rental at the Entebbe Airport, there are a plethora of important things you need to be more careful about for a successful self-drive trip in Uganda. Uganda is a pretty country in East Africa and it welcomes many people from various parts of the World.
The main entry is the Entebbe international Airport. There are several options to get from this aviation facility including the option to hire a 4×4 vehicle and drive around on your own. Here are the main points to put into consideration after receiving your car at Entebbe Aeroport.
How to drive on Uganda roads
Here we keep left and be very careful when driving on the roads in Uganda. First of all, roads in this country are a bit not wide but are used by various motorists including car drivers, motorcyclists, bikers plus pedestrians.
While driving in Uganda, you find yourself using the same lane with a bus, trailer, and truck driver, boda riders, and bikers. It is always not an easy task. You need to be more focused and attentive. Keep anything that can distract very far from you like the mobile phone, kids, laptops and more.
When you reach the sharp corners or junctions please reduce the speed and trace if there is another driver coming from the opposite side. Don’t just go through a corner or junction without taking precaution. Avoid driving at night. It is always not safe as some places not secure.
Even local drivers tend to drive carelessly at night as there are no traffic officers to penalize them. Moreover, in case of car breakdown you may fail to get someone to rescue you as at night people are sleeping and switching off phones. The insurance as well does not cover the night part. It applies only during day time.
Car safety & protection
Read the agreement and understand everything. After signing on the car rental terms and conditions you are responsible to keep the car safe and bring it back in the same state as you received it. On the first day you get the vehicle at the Airport, be sure to take photos or record a video of all existing body scratches and damages. Be sure to only park in safe areas and lock all the doors with mirrors moved up. Don’t move close to fire with the car and no smoking when inside.
Traffic penalties & road rules
Try hard to follow the road traffic rules and regulations. You are not allowed to drive while speaking on phone or texting. No over speeding, don’t drink and drive, follow the road signs, put on a seat belt and don’t overtake in a wrong road section. Don’t forget to follow the traffic light. The red light means stop, yellow means get ready and green means you are free to go.
All traffic penalties issued because of violating the driving rules are on you. It will be you to clear these penalty tickets. Some tickets are issued by the road side traffic cameras especially for over speeding. So, be sure to maintain the required speed per kilometer.
Communication (local Sim-card & internet)
If you are a foreign visitor and hope to drive in Uganda, I advise you to buy a local Sim card you can use to communicate with the field operations manager in case of a car breakdown or any other issue. Dont make any repairs on the car or allow a mechanic to dismantle anything before notifying the company operations officer. You can use this Sim card to call direct or use internet to communicate via WhatsApp.
When you are buying it, make sure to subscribe for calling minutes and internet bundles. The best network to use while in Uganda is Airtel or MTN. There are reliable and working in most parts of the nation.
