Before you book your vehicle for a Uganda self drive it is far better to look at the car rental agreement and read through the terms and conditions. In developing countries like we (Uganda) the car rental policies totally differs from those of European countries or developed countries most especially on the insurance policies. Read through the major factors that always make confusions when signing an agreement with the car rental company.
The insurance policies in Uganda are quite confusing like when the vehicle is comprehensively insured and it gets damaged by any occurrence be it accident and the damages are not beyond or equal to 150 US Dollars the insurance company don’t pay. Well as I was told by my friend who is in Canada that we was driving in Canada and the car got a mechanical problem, he just called his insurance company to come and take the vehicle for repair.
Another conflicting loyalty is about fuel, it is said that in European countries when you rent a vehicle, you get it with a full tank of gasoline well as in Africa, Uganda in Particular they give a vehicle with a less quarter tank and you return it the same, why so? Because the renter don’t trust the hirer. The hirer can fail to return the vehicle with exactly the same amount of fuel they took so avoid all of those it is better for the client to put in what he will use.
In Africa we drive second hand vehicles so you may find that some vehicles may have minor scratches, dents, broken mirrors so it is better for the client before taking the vehicle to thorough check either note on the paper or take photos of where the scratches or dents are so on return there is a second check to examine whether the client has added more scratches.
In developing countries you can expect a lot of theft that is why it is better to alert the client before to make sure when he is leaving the vehicle may be for overnight he should make sure he locks all doors. The company he rented from the vehicle is held not responsible for theft if he neglected to lock the vehicle. Keep it in mind that some local people believe that all whites have money so they take advantage of that and try to look for all possible to get you robbed.
Some clients think that when they rent a car they are free to drive across all neighboring countries, this could be possible but on the boarders of the two countries before you cross you have to pay another sticker for that country you are going to (This sticker is for the vehicle only) called the COMESA and this amount you pay to get the sticker is not included in the rental fees unless youdiscussed about it before.
This is for those going for Tour safaris, renting a vehicle for self drive means you have total ownership of the vehicle during your rented period however it is not recommendable to drive beyond some time limits and speed. Driving at night is only acceptable when there is a need for airport drop. In the national parks the speed limit is 40KM/h and you are not allowed to go off track and anyone caught has to pay US$150 fine to Uganda Wildlife Authority. You should note that all animals in the national park has 100% right of way and clients must be at least 100 metres away from fierce animals like elephants. So if you kill any wild animal you are obliged to pay a fine of US$500
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