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| Saturday, 7 August 2004 |
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Pedestrian crossings how safe are they? by Dr. K. N. K. Wijewardena Former Deputy Director of the Colombo National Hospital in an article to the Health Watch is posing this question to the authorities concerned and calling upon them - the police, road engineers, doctors, the media to get together at a forum and decide how best to tackle this problem - the increasing number of traffic accidents and deaths at pedestrian crossings. He says that last year - 2003, six people died in road traffic accidents daily on our roads, a fair number of them at pedestrian crossings.
We hope that the authorities will take some positive action on this issue, without delay. And bring about a change in what normally happens in instances when a serious traffic accident happens like in the Gampaha incident, as Dr. Wijewardena puts it. "When an incident of this nature happens there is a big flurry of activity, letters to the press, statements by politicians etc. but soon within a matter of few days everything is forgotten till another accident occurs." On our part Health Watch and its medical advisory panel is prepared to give the fullest support to any action plan, that the authorities feel should be taken to resolve this problem. Here's Dr. Wijewardena's article: Deaths on pedestrian crossings The recent deaths of two schoolgirls on a pedestrian crossing (pc) due to being knocked down by a speeding vehicle focuses attention yet again on how safe the pcs are. This is not the first time that deaths on pcs have happened. Users of a pc are under the impression that it is very safe to use them, but the reality seems to be otherwise. When an incident of this nature happens there is a big flurry of activity and letters to the Press etc. but soon after everything is forgotten till the next incident happens. The first thing to look at is whether the pcs are sited in a rational manner. In the city of Colombo this manner is anything but rational. Till recently a pc was even painted on top of a hump along Bullers Road! This is very dangerous as on a wet and muddy day a pedestrian can slip and fall. On some roads pcs are painted very near each other. This makes one wonder whether the authorities who paint them take the trouble of consulting other relevant authorities. Generally pcs should be sited at a place where an oncoming vehicle has a clear view of people crossing and has time to reduce speed. In non-urban areas even though pcs may be properly sited near schools, hospitals etc. some drivers especially if intoxicated will not care to reduce speed. This may be a small minority of drivers but the saving of even one life especially a young life, is worth adopting drastic measures. Some years ago on Thurstan road, a speeding private bus knocked down and killed a female undergraduate. The incensed students after burning that bus created such a rumpus that the authorities hastily constructed huge humps on the road. Now of course traffic lights are installed at this spot but strangely the humps still remain although reduced in height. Humps the only way For a third world country like Sri Lanka to achieve compulsory traffic calming, construction of humps may be the only way. Putting up even a number of warning signs will not entirely solve the problem as with the known indiscipline on our roads some drivers will simply ignore these signs. The hump should not be a 'mountain' and should be painted, so that it is visible even at night. Another alternative is fixing of thick wires on the road like the ones used for counting vehicles. These give a slight jolt which could serve as a warning that the driver is approaching a pc. Traffic cones also can be used as a temporary traffic calming measure at school opening and closing times. Till the next death occurs Whatever method is adopted it is essential that the vehicle speed be reduced when approaching a pc. This problem should not be forgotten till the next death occurs. When pcs were introduced in the sixties, it was announced that as long as the pedestrian was on the pavement the motorist had the right of way but the moment that pedestrian steps on the pc that becomes his property and if a motorist knocks such a pedestrian that motorist is liable for a huge fine. I don't know whether that is still the case. Whatever traffic calming measures are adopted, there is no substitute for the Traffic Police doing their job properly. In fact the public anger and violence after a road traffic accident (RTA) is fuelled by the inaction of the Police and the knowledge that the culprit will get away with the help of clever lawyers. This is also a factor in favour of compulsorily reducing speed. Reckless driving On our roads reckless driving is ignored by the Police and no action is taken before it leads to a RTA. I have never ever seen any traffic policeman chasing a reckless driver and charging him for that offence. Just a few weeks ago I was driving down Castle Street when a huge private bus came from Tickel Road and without any reduction of speed turned into Castle Street almost ramming me. When I went home I telephoned the SSP Traffic and gave the number of the bus which I had noted but the response was very negative. Some people have raised queries about the ownership of these private buses. Not fair to blame the police However it is not fair to blame only the Police for the increasing number of RTAs. In designing of roads the Police are seldom consulted and road maintenance, lighting and painting are often neglected by other agencies. Fitness to drive and medical conditions which impair driving are also factors causing RTAs. The medical examination of applicants for licences is sometimes not very thorough. In Colombo I think that a good number of the boys who drive three wheelers do not have licences. Statistics Some statistics concerning RTAs may be interesting. In 2003, an average of six people died everyday on our roads. This figure was 20% higher than the previous year and on this basis currently the figure would have reached double digits. One in 6.6 deaths in Sri Lanka is due to a RTA. Sri Lanka is ranked sixteenth highest in the world for RTAs. The cost due to RTAs in 2001 was Rs. ten billion. Eighty per cent of RTAs are driver related and nine per cent of RTAs are caused by drivers with no licences. Incidentally most of RTAs are caused by drivers with no licences. Incidentally the cost of traffic congestion is Rs. Twenty billion per year. Although we are a poor country hardly anyone is concerned with cost. Drunken driving Drunken driving is common on our roads. In a survey at the National Hospital it was found that eleven per cent of RTAs were due to drunken driving. In the eighties an English tourist while indulging in drunken driving in the USA ran over and killed a child. He fled the country but an organisation called Mothers Against Drunken Driving (MADD) went to court and got that man extradited back to USA to face charges of manslaughter. I don't know whether such organisations are found here. Anyway statistics are one thing and human life another. Let us hope that all the authorities responsible for road safety get together, consult each other and take firm steps to stop this carnage on our roads. |
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The recent one being the road traffic accident at a pedestrian crossing
near a girls school in Gampaha where two school girls were knocked down by
a speeding motorist when they were crossing the road at the pedestrian
crossing near their school.
