Archives

Containing the road accident crisis

by Talia Jayasekera

Travelling in the City is chaotic these days. Traffic jams are an endurance test for drivers and pedestrians alike. There seems to be just too many vehicles on the roads.

T. Perinpanayagam Chairman for the National Council  for Road Safety

The Christmas season has only amplified the problem. People have to think twice about travelling anywhere with the congestion and parking problems on the roads. It takes over an hour for even the shortest outings. In the past, the worst periods were during the morning rush with office and school traffic, but now it seems as if the congestion is continuous.

Road accidents are a common occurrence in all parts of Sri Lanka with the large number of vehicles. The number of fatalities is escalating. Annually, 1.2 million people die in road crashes worldwide. A further 20 million are seriously injured. Thousand one hundred and forty Sri Lankans are killed annually in accidents. These statistics are staggering and call for immediate action by the authorities.

"Reckless drivers cost lives", this was a car sticker I once saw and I realised just how much it applies to the situation in Colombo. A few months earlier, we were shattered by the terrible news that several people had been run over by buses. The first case being a mother in Nugegoda. A bus reversed onto her, crushing her skull. This nightmare was witnessed by her two young children and bystanders. A few days later, two schoolchildren were killed by another bus while they were crossing the road. They were on a pedestrian crossing. More incidents of road abuse were reported the following weeks. A total of 281 fatalities were reported due to negligence by private and public bus drivers in 2001.

The dangers of plying Lankan roads

Sri Lanka is ranked 16th in the world for deaths in road accidents. According to the Traffic Police, one in every 66 deaths is caused by a road accident. The cost of road accidents in 2001 was Rs. 10 billion which exceeded the public expenditure in the health sector. The situation has worsened since 1993 with 52,000 accidents occurring annually out of which 2000 are fatal accidents. The A3 road, from Peliyagoda to Kochchikade, records the highest number of fatalities and grievous accidents in the Western Province with 307 deaths. The A1 (Colombo-Nittambuwa) and A2 (Colombo-Aluthgama) record 150 and 191 respectively. The most fatal accidents occur between 8 a.m. -11 a.m. while most pedestrian accidents occur during 5 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Traffic laws are lax and almost non-existent in our country. Drivers constantly ignore road rules and can often be seen driving through traffic lights and making illegal turns. Most do not even care that they are endangering the lives of other commuters and pedestrians as well. They think that they are above the law! Legal pedestrian crossings are not respected.

Pedestrians cannot cross with ease as they just might see a vehicle bearing down on them. It does not matter to such drivers that this is a crossing set up by the Traffic Police and they need to obey it. They also forget that these are the road rules they memorised for their license testing. There is absolutely no courtesy on the roads.

It is a surprising fact that most accidents occur in daylight. Sixty-two percent of these are fatal. Twelve percent of all fatal pedestrian accidents are "hit and run" cases. Pedestrians are the most vulnerable on the roads because they have no way to defend or avoid the carelessness of vehicle users. 38% pedestrian casualties are recorded annually. It is a fact that most pedestrians cross the roads when the traffic light is red but it is the job of the drivers to pay attention to the happenings around them.

Traffic laws enforcement is so lax that most drivers on the road do not even have licences. 9% of accidents are caused by drivers without licences. Speeding and racing along narrow roads is greatly enjoyed by buses and other vehicles. Buses race each other to be the first at the next halt. It is immaterial to them that there are people and other vehicles on the road. Young drivers too, enjoy the thrill of racing in their cars. The faster, the better. It is particularly dangerous as some of them may be even "driving under the influence" and endangering their lives as well as those of others. All too often, we see smashed vehicles wrapped around lamp posts and shattered glass all around.

The International Conference on Professionalism in Driver Training System recently convened in Goa where a declaration on Driver and Motor Cycle Rider Testing and Training was signed. The conference was attended by delegates from Malaysia, Austria, Britain, Vienna, Sweden, Syria, Brunei, Australia, The Netherlands and Sri Lanka. Representatives from motor companies - Leyland, Maruti Limited, Hero Honda Motors, Eicher Motors also participated. The conference accords equal value to human life across the world.

Representing Sri Lanka at this conference was former Traffic DIG and Chairman for the National Council for Road Safety, T. Perinpanayagam. Mr. Perinpanayagam is also Secretary to the Ceylon Society for the Prevention of Accidents. "The most common contributory factors for road accidents in Sri Lanka are speeding, overtaking, aggressive driving, intoxication, failing to follow road rules", says Mr. Perinpanayagam.

"It is estimated that there are over 1.5 million operational vehicles in the country. The problem we have is that the roads are too small for vehicular traffic. The roads are two lane highways that have not been improved to modern standards", he said.

"What we require is a comprehensive set of proposals on road safety with specific emphasis on engineering, education, enforcement, environment and evaluation. It is also necessary for us to have the cooperation of councils and committees so that we may coordinate our plan". "The declaration signed in Goa gives many strategies that can be implemented for our roads. Some of the strategies were improving driver training. This includes strict medical tests, better instructors, licensing procedures. Also enhancing traffic law procedures. Enhancing punishment to offenders, implementing speed limits and other laws as well", he said.

"If the declaration and the Motor Vehicle Act is modified and passed by the Minister, we will be able to halve the road accidents and fatalities by 50%", said Mr. Pernipanayagam.

Traffic Police Chief SSP Wickremasinghe told the Daily News that they are working actively towards promoting safer roads. "We have increased the number of detections on the roads from 95,000 to 120,000. Also the quality of detections is much better. The number of police officers at pedestrian crossings and on the road has been increased from 3% to 5%", he said. "We had many problems with cars going through the red lights and pedestrians crossing the road anywhere they please. Now we are fining them Rs. 350 for illegal crossings. This is the only way to show them their mistakes".

"The other problem we had is that most drivers do not have licences. This is because the RMV does not have the capacity to process many licences. There is a long wait so people prefer to drive without licences. The fine for this offence is only Rs. 200! But now we are going to crack down on these issues and take a serious stand against such offenders", said Mr. Wickremasinghe.

"We have frequent campaigns within schools and the public. Many banners and advertisements are now running in the media. At present we are training police officers in batches of three. Most did not have proper training and we had to address this issue immediately", he said.

The Traffic Police is planning to address many other traffic issues within the coming year. The first two months will focus on education programs to be held at schools while the latter months will be focused on improved detections and also rectifying defects pertaining to vehicles and road conditions. The Traffic Police is also asking the help of NGOs and other non governmental organisations to help with funding in the coming year to reduce the number of accidents. Daily News also spoke to the Road Development Authority to get their opinion on this problem.

"We are carrying out many training programs and workshops to improve the standards of road safety", says Road Safety Project Manager Mr. Fernando. The Road Safety Division, a part of the Road Development Authority, regularly conducts public awareness programs, driver training, school education, black spot improvements. "We are working in close collaboration with Ministry of Education to promote road safety in schools. A training program was carried out at the Lumbini Maha Vidyalaya on October 25, where teachers and students took part in road safety demonstrations. This is the best possible way to increase awareness with youngsters", said Mr. Fernando. "At present, we are gathering information from the local police stations regarding the accidents that have occurred from 1990 to the present day. This information will be processed and we will be able to identify "black spots" on the roads that need improvement. These are areas on the road which may not be illuminated properly or not have the correct road signs", he said.

"Policemen will be trained on how to handle accident situations and more rigid laws will be introduced for a guilty driver". "We are also implementing new action plans to improve manuals, road signs, licence testing and driving tests. This will be done with the cooperation of the RMV and the Ministry of Highways". "Furthermore, we will be setting up an Accident Hotline to report accidents and an Emergency Service. This will be implemented in 2004. We are currently in talks with the Mayor to finalise the details", he said. Introducing more rules and regulations for road safety may not be the answer to the problem we face. Sri Lankan drivers lack discipline and the incentive to follow these laws. They have become all too familiar with the workings of our Traffic Police and Government.

What we need is a foolproof plan to enforce these laws in the minds of all drivers. Action speaks louder than words.

News | Business | Features | Editorial | Security
Politics | World | Letters | Sports | Obituaries |

Produced by Lake House
Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
Comments and suggestions to :Web Manager