By AFAYO SHADRACH BETHEL

Police have announced a countrywide operation to arrest and impound vehicles that have pending Express Penalty System tickets starting today.

The express penalty scheme has 25 offences for motorists and offenders are liable to pay between Shs20,000 and Shs200,000 depending on the offence.

The police spokesperson, Mr Fred Enanga, says for the last seven months, a total of 229,938 tickets worth Shs18.5 billion have been issued and some money has not been paid within the required 28 days.

In a related development, police revealed that distracted driving has led to loss of lives in fatal accidents in Uganda and across the world.

Whereas many think that the law only penalises driving while speaking on the phone, Ms Faridah Nampiima, the traffic police spokesperson, said even using voice notes on WhatsApp is wrong.