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| Saturday, 21 August 2004 |
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The high rise in road accidents by Aryadasa Ratnasinghe
Trishaws too have met with accidents, mostly due to negligence on the part of the drivers. Sixty five percent of accidents have been reported from the Western Province where there are too many vehicles on the road. Very often, negligence on the part of the drivers, driving under the influence of liquor, lack of experience, faulty judgements, over-speeding, driving unroadworthy vehicles, defective signals, wornout tyres etc., have contributed for many road accidents. Poor eye-sight and falling asleep while at the wheel have also been responsible for accidents. On an overall basis, two persons die in every nine hours, having met with road accidents. This works out to 9,720 human lives in one year. Bad roads, negligence or ignorance of traffic rules and the Highway Code, poor lighting or running at night with one light, unfamiliar roads and low driving standards have, jointly and severally, made the situation worse than otherwise. The ratio between men and women involved in accidents is 5:1, because males are more mobile than females. The toll of human lives and suffering, exacted by motor vehicles is enormous, and the destruction wrought is increasing, despite the long arms of the law and the law enforcement officials in not keeping a check on errant drivers. Once in a way, a Traffic Police constable jumps on to the road from his hideout and stops a vehicle and shows him the speedometer indicating the speed the vehicle was moving. Every year, in Sri Lanka, thousands are maimed or injured, sometimes, seriously, while on the road, partly due to the negligence of the pedestrians and partly due to the carelessness of the drivers at the wheel. Every accident is an unforeseen and unexpected event, more or less, a mishap, and it is like a bolt from the blues. Therefore, everyone making use of the road or highway, must observe care and be vigilant over moving vehicles. Drivers must alert their attention to other users of the road. The cost of a serious accident is very high, to say nothing of the amount of suffering and distress resulting in accidents. In-as-much, motor traffic is so in extricably woven into the fabric of public life of the community, that its ill-effects are impossible to eradicate completely, because motor vehicles keep increasing at an alarming rate, especially in the Western Province, with a population of 5,361,185 in 2001, where people are easily prone to accidents on the highway. Under such circumstances, the law enforcement officials and Traffic Police must endeavour to reduce the number of road accidents, from what it is now, by strict law enforcement as provided in the statute book. In Sri Lanka, there is the law, but its enforcement is rather poor. Road accidents are largely a matter concerning Criminal Law, which attempts to regulate the driving standards through the Highway Code. What we are concerned is the inefficiency of the law enforcement officials to maintain law and order among the drivers, and the inadequacy of the existing laws to impose deterrent punishment. For example, the maximum fine that could be imposed on a person driving a hiring car, under the provisions of section 151 (1) of the Motor Traffic Act No. 48 of 1957, is Rs. 2,000 or Rs. 3,000 for driving a bus. If the vehicle were to meet with an accident, involving a pedestrian, and cause injury, the fine does not exceed Rs. 3,000, with or without jail term. According to legal opinion, in the event of death of a passenger or pedestrian, the prescribed jail term is 10 years, but it is very difficult to find a driver, who had been charged in the Magistrate's Court, under Section 151 of the Motor Traffic Act, to be imprisoned. This is an old statute not befitting today. The fine is just 'money for gram' to the offender, and those who are found guilty escape with a little loss of money. In order to feel the gravity of the penalty, the maximum fine for traffic offences must be within the region of Rs. 25,000 in the event of a death of a person by accident, with proviso to meet funeral expenses of the dead. The value of human life is beyond assessment. Sometimes, bribery and corruption also play an active role for the traffic offender, to escape from legal impediments. Politicians too, sometimes, intervene and influence law enforcement officials to suppress the cases from proceeding further. To drive under the influence of liquor is a serious traffic offence. But, there are drivers who take the wheel, regardless of risks involved to self and others. In most developed countries, liquor is not consumed before driving, except a glass or two of beer, ale or stout, which are mild intoxicants. In England, fines are heavy for drunk driving and if detected, the driving licence is either cancelled or suspended for a period. In Sri Lanka, traffic laws are violated and those who violate become heroes. When a driver, suspected of having taken liquor, is arrested by the Police, a breathalyser test is carried out to ascertain whether the person is really drunk, and whether he is under the influence of liquor. Breathalyser is a device, used on a driver, suspected of having drunk an excessive amount of alcohol. The driver blows into a tube or a balloon and, in the process, crystals in the device change colour, if there is alcohol present in the blown-out air. The extent of the change indicates that the driver has exceeded the safe alcohol limit, which in UK is 80 mg. per 100 ml. of blood. In certain countries, the initial test is given by an ununiformed Police Officer, and, if positive, the driver is arrested to be produced in court. A further blood test is carried out at the Police Station, in the presence of a doctor, to confirm the first test. Nothing improves one's driving standards, more than a traffic constable on duty on the road or, better still, if seen through the driving mirror. The drivers are so scared with the Traffic Police, that they are always on the alert to escape from a charge sheet and a fine. Some drivers,when they see a Traffic Police constable on duty, signal to the on-coming vehicle, by flashing headlights, as a warning to be on the alert. This is the usual practice among private bus drivers, who always break the Highway Code. It has been proved that traffic accidents are a common phenomenon, or an epiphenomenon, very often unavoidable, depending on the circumstances involved. Most accidents are due to split-second lapses on the part of the drivers, momentary errors of judgment, human frailty, skidding and weather conditions, high density of fog etc., which are, for the most part, unavoidable. Road accidents are the inevitable result of putting the powers many horses into weak human hands. Around of those injured due to road accidents are those between the age group of 20 to 50 years, perhaps, because they are more mobile than others of the lower and higher age groups. Today, everyone talks of private bus drivers as killers on the road, and most of them have no regard for road safety rules. Most of them are young men with no wide experience at the wheel, unaware of safety regulations, and some even do not possess a driving licence. According to Traffic Police, 25% of these drivers have no licence to drive heavy vehicles, such as buses and lorries. Some have obtained driving licences, but do not possess the competence to drive vehicles safely on the road, especially during peak hours. It is no secret that most of the private bus conductors have turned out to be drivers, but they lack patience while driving as with the experienced lot, and always try to speed their vehicles, regardless of consequences. Most serious accidents happen when drivers try to overtake other buses carelessly even after seeing an on-coming vehicle from the opposite direction. This is due to sheer negligence and foolishness in trying to be too smart at the wheel. The perils to which passengers in private buses have to face are over-speeding and reckless driving. Many accidents have happened when these drivers try to fool the devil in trying to cross level-crossings, despite the danger of an approaching train. Most motorists do this mistake mostly due to lack of patience until the train passes. Road accidents can be minimised, provided the drivers seriously think of it and observe care at the wheel. |
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Produced by Lake House |
According to a news release, the total number of road accidents, as
recorded by the Traffic Police, in the year 2003, was 55,301 of which
2,029 were fatal. Light vehicles, especially vans (15,804), have
contributed to the highest number of road accidents, while private buses
(8,398) have taken the second place.
