To arrest high accident numbers:

Stern action against driving schools

Police in a bid to arrest the high incidence of traffic accidents have ended to take stern action against errant drivers and driving schools which had been instrumental in obtaining driving licenses of them without proper competence in driving.

This will be done by tracking down rewards involving negligent drives at the respective driving schools and road accidents cared by them.

Road accidents due to poor driving skills had rapidly increased and the Government's new plan will avert this situation,"Deputy Transport Minister Rohana Kumara Dissanayeke said. Many students do not regularly attend the driving lessons and pay bribes to receive their driver's licenses. Following the new mechanism, the data of drivers trained by the driving schools will be maintained by the Transport Ministry. These records will be compared with reports on road accidents maintained by the Police and action will be taken against the driving school which trained drivers who were responsible for the highest number of road accidents.

Almost 30 percent of total accidents on roads occur due to reckless driving. Therefore, it is necessary to take steps to prevent accidents on the roads. Every one like,drivers, pedestrians, and other road users should just follow the traffic laws including traffic lights to avoid accidents on the roads. There are 644 driving schools across the country. Seven out of them are run by the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) while the rest are private enterprises. The Deputy Minster said that there are plenty of evidence that private driving schools have shirked their responsibilities. In most private driving schools, instructors are not given the proper education and they dont provide learners enough practice time to students.

The instructor should be professionally trained to teach safety habits and practices to student learners. Private driving schools should enhance competence of drivers through the use of modern equipment, up to date information and materials, and of course a strong understanding of the reality of the responsibility.

IR