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| Thursday, 22 July 2004 |
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'Road safety is prevention of accidents' by T. Perinpanayagam The World Health Organization, for the first time, had selected "Road Safety Is No Accident" as the theme of this years World Health Day, which fell on the 7th April 2004. The WHO in arelease states that the risks are known. They include speeding, alcohol, non-use of seat belts, poor road design, poor enforcement of Road Safety Laws and regulations and poor emergency health services. Many accidents can be prevented by following simple procedures in educating road users, both motorists and pedestrians, on road rules, if systematically enforced. Stern action against those who violate traffic rules should be taken by the enforcement authorities and use of un-roadworthy vehicles should also be prohibited from use on our highways and this could save precious lives. If the above facts are accepted then the prevention of accidents should be road safety. 38% of traffic casualties in Sri Lanka are pedestrians and I wish to recommend the following preventive measures which have been neglected by successive governments and authorities. Road Traffic crashes result in substantial losses, due to injuries and deaths. Vehicle/pedestrian involvement present a major challenge, because pedestrians represent more than one third of the 1.2 million people killed and 10 million injured, annually in road traffic crashes worldwide. Pedestrians represent 38% of all road accident casualties, the largest, or the primary category, of motor vehicle casualties i.e. deaths and injuries in Sri Lanka. The ever-increasing road traffic flow and traffic accidents are a heavy burden to a developing country like Sri Lanka. The vehicle population increase is at 5% per year while the rate of increase in road accidents stands at 6% per year. The accident statistics provided by the Police show that about 50,000 accidents are recorded annually with 2000 fatalities and 15,000 causing accident injury. The gross domestic product (G.D.P) for the year 2001 was Rs. 1,400 Billion with cost of road accidents evaluated at Rs. 10 Billion. The cost of accidents is about 1% of the country's G.D.P. This clearly implies that the Government should take cost-effective measures to minimise road accidents in the country. The most effective way of reducing accidents is to identify accident-prone locations in the country and to take immediate preventive measurers by treating the black spots in a cost effective manner. Accident prone areas - Accident prone locations may be basically defined as areas where the accident rate is abnormally high in frequency and severity, beyond established norms. Black Spots are locations where crashes are often so severe as to result in high cost to society. Causes for road accidents: The four components that directly affect any road accident at an accident prone or at a black spot area are (i) The driver, (ii) The vehicle, (iii) The road environment, (iv) Traffic enforcement. Accidents occur due to a failure in any of these factors or combination of them. "Error of judgment" is an underlying cause of 85% of almost all road accidents and driving without due care and attention: i.e. human errors in observation, decision making and response to situations. The remaining 15% of accidents are directly attributable to vehicle defects or faults in road design and or maintenance. Speeding, a cause for 44% of the pedestrian fatalities - Speeding has been recognised as a major factor in pedestrian fatalities. Reports indicate that if actual travel speeds are reduced, there will be a resultant decrease in the severity of accidents, injury and fatalities to victims and damage to vehicles. 21% of pedestrian fatalities were due to the fault of the pedestrians. Counter measures - There should be appropriate measures to reduce the effect of speeding. The concept of traffic-calming is used to achieve substantial reduction in road accidents by adopting low cost engineering measures. It reduces vehicle speed and improves traffic safety. "Traffic-calming" methods should be changed with motorization and time. There are a few ways of improving accident prone locations. (1) Pedestrian facilities (2) Guard Rails (3) Traffic lights (4) Road humps (5) Speed cautions (6) Roundabouts (7) Raised pedestrian crossings (8) Rumble strips Accident casualties - Accident statistics reveal the casualties as follow: Pedestrian 38% } Passengers 26% } Total 78% Pedal Cyclists 14% } Motor Cycles 12% } Drivers 10% } Total 22% The above statistics reveal that planners, administration,, road safety officers have failed to provide safety measures to pedestrians including pedestrian facilities. Pedestrian accidents can be reduced by adopting low cost engineering measures and by improving pedestrian facilities. (1) Installing pedestrian - operated signals (2) Continuous fencing (3) Raised medians/raised crossings (4) Calming of vehicle speeds (5) Signals for compliance by Pedestrians Investigations conducted with regard to pedestrian accidents revealed the following problems: (1) Absence of pedestrian walkways/crossing. (2) Pedestrian walkways/crossings not properly located. (3) Pedestrian walkways/crossing not clearly visible. (4) High speed of vehicles. (5) Poor visibility (6) Poor traffic controlling systems. The following strategies are recommended to reduce pedestrian involvement in road accidents - (1) Improving the safety of roads at accident black spots. (2) Education and awareness programmes to the public and to school children. (3) Traffic calming measures at accident prone areas. (4) Pedestrian facilities such as clearly marked pedestrian walkways/crossings. (5) Develop awareness campaign on road safety in - (a) The Primary school curriculum and (b) Post primary school curriculum. The primary object of the above strategy is to reduce Pedestrian casualities by 25% by 2005. The responsibility for prevention of accidents and Road Safety in Sri Lanka should be shared by the National Government, Provincial Government including the Municipal Council, Urban Councils, Pradesheyasabas and non Governmental agencies. Task forces comprising road safety experts from the above agencies should be set up to better understand the obstacles they must overcome and develop appropriate interventions in order to achieve the targets of Road Safety vision by 2005. Road Safety activities should in other words, be decentralised. The ministries centrally involved in the safety of pedestrians are: (1) Ministry of Transport/Department of Motor Traffic/Road Safety Secretariat. (2) Ministry of Highways - Road Development Authority (3) Ministry of Local Government and Provincial Councils. (4) Ministry of Education. (5) Ministry of Information. (6) Ministry of Interior - Police Department. Road safety measures recommended above need to be adopted in accident prone areas to protect pedestrians and reduce crashes caused by vehicles. A special traffic safety agency for pedestrians is recommended for reducing traffic fatalities and casualties involved in Sri Lanka. (The writer is the President, Ceylon Society for the Prevention of Accidents, Former, Deputy Inspector General of Police (Traffic), Former, Chairman National Council for Road Safety.) |
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