Scream till sun goes off course and moon loses its splendour

It is not the wealth of a nation that builds roads, but the road that builds the wealth of a nation
- President, John Kennedy

A vital transport system with effective motor traffic law enforcement becomes the main artery of a nation's healthy existence. In the history of civilization each great power has had benefitted out of an efficient transport system to buttress its economic growth.

Open a newspaper in the morning and what do we get to read? Motor vehicle accidents of different kind with immense suffering and devastation.

Equally one cannot avoid catching a glimpse of motor cyclists getting knocked down by fast moving vehicles, 'tuk tuks' crumpling at the slightest impact and private bus drivers taking the law unto themselves on the roads.

Road accidents in this country have increased to such an extent that the general public pay no heed anymore, but rather take them unenergetically with indolent exclamations such as 'Ah! Another accident'! This is what the country has become when road disasters have become part and parcel of modern day living while the value of human life is getting less significant!

Traffic regulations

Where do we go wrong in our present approach to a better and a safer mode of transport? Statistics reveal "359,243 'new' vehicle registrations last year, with an increase of 159,068 over the 2009 figure due to mainly 50 percent slashing of Customs and import duty, which contributes to major traffic congestions".

In such a state of affairs, road/traffic/town planning/traffic control and implantation authorities need to work in harmony to obtain optimum results. Implementation of road traffic regulations, particularly syncronisation of traffic colour light signals with evenly balanced time intervals will greatly enhance traffic flow. This is an accepted norm in every developed country as opposed to Sri Lanka's negative attitudes and failure at various busy spots.

What can be seen today is the Government investing generously on modern technology and electronic equipment to make transport effective, but some traffic control ingenuous giving orders to switch such electronic lights off and replace with traffic cops to make the situation worse.

Nawala/Rajagiriya Road junctions on Parliament Road stand as typical examples of this blunder where millions worth of traffic signals are switched off and allowed to be seen as a white elephant! Why, for goodness sake, were these installed in the first instance at such enormous costs if they are to be switched off!

Errant motorists

General public on numerous occasions have been voicing their frustrated opinion through newspaper columns; editorials too have been screaming out endlessly about such misdemeanour with sensible advise to improve the situation; regrettably both the makers and implementers of the traffic laws seem to adopt a Nelsonian eye on the problem. A case of heightened ego or lack of wisdom!

Errant motorists too are not an exception to the present day traffic/road debacle but act as major players of the game. Total lack of knowledge on the highway code by most of the modern road users, high speed bus drivers who think roads are their private domain, three-wheelers creeping in and out of vehicle gaps like cockroaches and the stubborn and selfish attitudes of overflowing number of motor cyclists contribute immensely to a total mess of Sri Lanka's road network system while many Police officers on roadside choose to be by-standers and blowing an inaudible whistle rather than implementing the traffic law!

Those who have been and are responsible for implementing the traffic law to the letter need to hold their heads in shame for the total breakdown of the vital directive of the Motor Traffic Act where it categorically emphasizes on overtaking of motor vehicles from the left as illegal. Surely, we have not adopted EU regulations in this country as yet, to drive on the right hand side of the road? One could cry out till the sun goes off course or the moon loses its splendour, yet will the traffic police be able to put this simple regulation into force where modern motorists in Sri Lanka are blatantly violating this ruling which is hazardous.

Liquor sales

Random breathalysing tests by Police on 'drink and drive' at night-time has managed to discipline and curtail many drivers from consuming liquor while driving now. However, should it be confined to night-time driving only? Unlike in other countries where liquor sales are restricted to certain hours, an adult in Sri Lanka can walk into a wine store or a supermarket at any time and buy liquor before 9 pm. This makes much easier for 'addicts' to have a 'shot' or two before they sit behind a steering wheel which can lead to a major disaster. Ideal solution could be to either restrict liquor selling hours during day-time or go for a full-scale campaign to nab drunken drivers at any time.

An effective transport system, generally considered as a public service, should provide trouble free and comfortable rides. Overloading buses like packed tins of sardines does not contribute to safe or comfortable travel of commuters.

Public transport

This points out to why many female office workers and schoolchildren are dependent on private vans for transport which at times places children at risk with perilous driving by inexperienced drivers. Will commuters in Sri Lanka ever see the dawning of a new era where they could travel comfortably and enjoy a bus ride without being squeezed and harassed by jam-packed commuters while conductors creep through them and yelling all the time to move forward making commuters' journey a nightmare?

If our aim is to woo tourists in the near future claiming Sri Lanka to be the paradise island we need to think hard and go a long way in achieving our goal in a sophisticated transport system and affording foreigners too to travel by bus and train as many foreigners would like to get a feel of the visiting country independently travelling by public transport.

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