Over 1,400 road accident deaths in first seven months

Ridma Dissanayake

Around 21,506 road accidents occurred in Sri Lanka during the first seven months of this year of which 1,363 were fatal. Around 1,402 persons died in these accidents,Traffic Administration and Road Safety Director Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) K Arasaratnam said.

He said a majority of accidents occur due to human error. “These accidents can be prevented by the strict implementation of traffic laws and creating awareness on the magnitude of the accidents which depicts the danger and its consequences.

Careless, dangerous and drunk driving are the main reasons for accidents,” he said. “Using mobile phones while driving and crossing roads also cause accidents.

The Traffic Police conduct a number of programmes to make people aware of the reasons and how to prevent accidents. A 24 hour traffic service is in operation in the country to reduce these accidents,” SSP Arasaratnam said. According to Police reports, 2,565 accidents where critical injuries were caused occurred during the same period while 7,540 accidents caused minor injuries with 10,039 causing property damage Meanwhile, SSP Arasaratnam said the Police collected Rs 1,008,295,283 as fines during the first half of this year.

“The income from payment of fines is Rs 594,796,081. The Police earned Rs 310,920,842 out of the total amount through income received from payment by those found guilty of traffic offences by court and Rs 102,578,360 income received from fines and other payments made by those found guilty by courts for road accidents,” he said.