Not so random happenings
The saga of road misdemeanours seems to continue regardless. Just
last weekend, two buses collided head on, on the Colombo-Hambantota Road
at Kiula, close to where I live. The villagers counted that about 50
passengers were badly hurt with several loosing their limbs. Children,
pregnant women, young and the elderly among them, hospitals in
Hambantota, Ambalantota and Tangalle were all busy attending on these
hapless victims. Attention to other patients had to be put on hold.
Most believe that exercise of more care and caution by owners and
drivers of these buses and the strict and impartial enforcement of
road-rules by officers of our Police Force all around the country could
prevent many such accidents, saving valuable human lives and cost to
State coffers.
Preventing accidents
* Strict and impartial
enforcement of road-rules by Police officers
* Saving valuable human
lives and cost to State coffers
* ‘Mad rush’ to get ahead of
others on roads cause accidents
* Road discipline important
* Exercise of more care and
caution by drivers |
The accident at Kiula happened on a Saturday morning and the
principal of the nearby Kanishta Vidyalaya commented “imagine the plight
of our students on the road, if this accident happened at a time when
the children were coming to or returning from school”. Although no
pedestrians were involved in last weekend’s accident, we frequently hear
of them being knocked-down by bus and other drivers with terrorist like
mentalities.
Innocent victims
The eakle-broom maker of the village, Mahatun Mama was hit by a bus
when he was taking his daily produce of the two brooms to the nearby
boutique and died instantly. Village philanthropist, Podi Singho
Mudalali was laid to rest when he was knocked down by a drunk-driver of
a four-wheel drive vehicle, when he was riding his push bicycle. Nimal,
his wife and their little child were thrown away from their motorcycle
also hit by a drunk- driver. Nimal’s young wife had to undergo
multiple-surgery to save her leg that broke into several pieces. The
child had a miraculous escape with only minor injuries, when an
approaching bus passed over the fallen child. Such alarming and sad
stories of suffering of victims and their families we see and hear are
many.
I remember the days when we were children in the fifties. Road
discipline was tops and the times we were pulled up for violating them,
numerous. On our bicycles at night, if there was no light when the
dynamo fixed to rub-off the tyre was mal-functional, we could be sure
that we had to push that bicycle all the way home. The policeman would,
with a severe warning let off the air on the front tyre.
Strict discipline
Riding a friend on the front bar of a bicycle would mean both of us
having to carry the bicycle home on our shoulders. It was no nonsense
discipline and the lessons we learnt stood in good stead for us, even
today. As a wise man once said, “discipline for a child begins at home
and for a nation, it begins on the road. Get that right and we will then
begin to develop as a nation”.
The ‘me first’ mentality on the roads and the ‘mad rush’ to get ahead
of others, violating road rules such as crossing the marked double lines
indicative of dangers and ignoring safety signage are sure ways of
calling for disaster on the roads for careful and hapless drivers and
pedestrians. It is the same ethos that extends to other spheres of our
lives turning us into a society where ‘might’ takes over, with reason
and fair-play taking a back-seat.
Mad rush
Today, we observe some of our police officers themselves violating
road-rules, turning a blind-eye to violations by influential and
powerful persons and nabbing the not-so-powerful and influential. They
themselves direct traffic at junction lights at peak-times in the city,
signalling motorists to proceed when the red light is on. We all have
learnt and know what the rulebook says; i.e. one must stop when a red
light flashes and must wait for the green light to appear before
proceeding further.
Another reality this column had consistently focused on is the issue
of climate change and resultant global warming. We as human beings have
for some time now, allowed our greed to override and dominate the need
we have to fulfil our basic needs.
Gone crazy
This has led to over-indulgence and wasteful use of resources, a
phenomenon caused by actions of many nations and entities all around
this planet. The impact of its outcomes had left the poor, poorer and
the rich, richer. Many around the world have been victims of this
‘sickly’ state of affairs, where over eighty percent of the resources on
Planet Earth are being owned and consumed only by a 20 percent of its
inhabitants.
The crazy weather patterns we witness can be attributed to the hurt
humankind had caused Mother Nature with our greedy and wasteful ways of
living.
Some seek to call them random happenings and make believe that these
are just depressions caused in different hemispheres. Yet, the frequency
and the intensity of the changes that we have ourselves witnessed and
seen happen around the world of floods, snowfall, forest-fires,
droughts, tsunamis, typhoons, gale-winds, etc. tell us that it can not
be business as usual for Mother Nature.
Just this weekend we also witnessed how, many areas of our land
continued to have downpours of rain that caused floods with devastation
to agriculture affecting the lives of many hundreds of thousands.
Filling of marshlands in water catchments around cities, caused the
floodwaters to create havoc and the indiscriminate removal of vegetation
and topsoil caused landslides of disastrous consequences in the hilly
areas marking the loss of life and property of enormous proportions.
Doing our bit
All this points to the fact that we need to resolve to discipline
ourselves from all excesses. On the roads, at our homes, with our ways,
in our minds, we would need to reinvent ourselves to be more caring and
considerate of the needs and safety of others.
We would need to do away with our greedy ways and focus on fulfilling
the basic needs of our fellow human beings before we indulge in useless
luxurious pursuits.
At this time when we focus on a new phase of our development to seek
a better Sri Lanka for the future, we must resolve to do our bit to
bring in discipline on our roads, at our homes, with our ways and in our
minds.
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