Curbing highway lawlessness

THE Government's decision to update the country's 25 year old Motor Traffic Act,with the principal aim of reducing terrifically rising traffic accidents and their overwhelming costs, should be warmly welcomed by the civic-conscious public.

It was only a couple of days back that President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, drew our attention to the fact that 2000 fatal road accidents over the past three years and 55,000 other road mishaps had cost the country Rs. 10 billion annually. She said so while addressing the National Conference on Reduction of Motor Traffic Accidents, Fatalities and Injuries.

Some of the areas which would be covered by the proposed amendments to the Motor Traffic Act are the issuing of driving and revenue licences, and the transfer of vehicles.

Equally welcome are curbs relating to the import and manufacture of illegal vehicles, contemplated increases in fines and punishments and the proposed setting-up of a Traffic Management Secretariat, aimed at reducing fuel consumption.

Given the magnitude of the problem of highway lawlessness, these measures are commendable and we hope they would prove doubly effective in diminishing the current horrors on our roads which are not only proving a menacing threat to life and limb but are also ravenously consuming our financial and material resources.

It is clear that the country's traffic problem is a highly complex challenge with a number of interlocking strands in it. To begin with, we are saddled with a dangerously booming vehicle population which successive governments seem have been fighting shy of addressing.

May be it would prove highly unpopular for governments to attempt to cut this Gordian Knot of our highways but we do not see how any progress could be made towards reducing our rampant traffic tragedies other than by, first, reducing our vehicle population or in the alternative by expanding our highway network.

An increasing vehicle population could be countenanced as long as physical space is provided for it. If the latter measure cannot be carried out we have no choice but to curb the influx of vehicles to our highways. Decisive measures, in short, are needed.

This is not to minimise the importance of road discipline and order. It should be noted that some Western capitals too are clogged with vehicles. But the impression is inescapable that those highways are by no means lawless and disorderly.

This is because road discipline is a strong point of the West. Not only are motorists law-abiding the law too is stringently enforced in those countries.

We need to take a leaf in this regard from the West and in so far as the contemplated legislation covers these aspects of traffic management they need to be welcomed. For instance, the reforms proposed in the issue of driving licences could prove effective.

For far too long, getting a driving licence in this country has proved a trifling matter for many. It is an open secret that substandard driving is often rewarded with driving licences. Enough is enough, we say. Stringent control needs to be exercised in the issue of these licences and we hope the proposed amendments would pave the way for this.

Next, road discipline should be firmly enforced by the law enforcement authorities. Repeat offenders should be prohibited from driving ever after and those errant motorists who cause fatalities should be speedily brought to justice and required to pay compensation to the bereaved, for instance.

We hope political considerations would not come in the way of implementing these just measures.