News
Deadly hit-and-run points to 60pc rise in drink-driving
Inspector Premasiri Peiris
The hit-and-run accident that tragically cost a life on Colombo’s Marine Drive last weekend came amid warnings over rising numbers of intoxicated killers behind the wheel.
Marine Drive is a known attraction for joggers and cyclists, with residents from Kollupitiya to Wellawatte taking their early morning exercise. Drivers using the road are well aware of this activity.
“This accident was mainly due to driving under the influence of alcohol and losing total control of the vehicle,” Traffic Officer in Charge of the Wellawatte police, Inspector Premasiri Peiris said.
He said a 56-year-old man from Wellawatte was cycling with his sister around 6am when a speeding car hit them near Nelson Place and continued towards Dehiwela, hitting three joggers about 300m after the first accident.
One of the joggers, a 77-year-old, was thrown to the pavement and later succumbed to injuries. The car continued to move at speed and hit another person about 30m after the second accident.
A driver who witnessed the rampage, sped to get to the police post at the end of Marine Drive to aid inquiries. By the time police reached the speeding car, the car had stalled and police was able to arrest the driver and another person in the vehicle, OIC Peiris said.
The main suspect, Roshan Revin Adhihetty. according to police, is a senior manager at a city hotel in Bambalapitiya who had been heading for Mount Lavinia. He and the other person in the car are in their late forties and from Kaduwela and Narahenpita respectively.
“The driver had been to several night clubs in Kollupitiya and Bambalapitiya throughout the night and was heavily drunk when arrested. The suspects are remanded till March 17,” OIC Peiris said. The driver will be charged for murder, hit-and-run, causing injuries and being under the influence of liquor.
Director of Colombo South Teaching Hospital (Kalubowila) Dr. Pradeep Wijesinghe told The Sunday Times, one person injured in the rampage was in the hospital’s orthopedic ward and was lucky to have survived.
“One person who suffered from severe head injuries died on admission to the National Hospital, Colombo,” he said.
According to police, more than 13,000 cases of drink-driving have been recorded to date this year. A total of 95,000 cases have been filed against drunken drivers from July 2019 to December 31, 2020.
Police Spokesman DIG Ajith Rohana said there is an increasing trend of people driving under the influence of liquor.
“The fine for drunk driving is up to Rs.25,000 and if deaths occur in a drunk driving accident the driver will face both the fine and ten years rigorous imprisonment under the Motor Traffic Act,” he warned.
A meeting is to take place next week with all stakeholders in the transport sector from traffic police, the roads and motor vehicles authority and the Transport Medical Institute, to discuss the alarming number of accidents caused by drunk drivers, Dr. Sisira Kodagoda, consultant to the Transport Ministry’s Advisory Committee on the Prevention of Road Traffic Accidents, said.
Dr. Kodagoda, a former president of the National Council for Road Safety, said the committee had observed a 60 per cent increase in cases of drink-driving.
“Due to COVID-19 lockdown, police officers were deployed for COVID related duties and the use of breathalysers came to a halt, leading to slowing down of traffic police function. This triggered traffic violations including driving under the influence of liquor,” he added.
He said drunk driving offences need to be taken seriously, even by police.
“Due to the absence of overseas visitors, at present nightclubs are attracting more locals. A survey revealed that 85 per cent of those coming out of a club are under the influence of liquor. A designated driver or arranged taxi service should be a must,” he said.
According to him, the country had in the past lost UN funding allocated for road traffic prevention due to an inability to come up with a successful preventive mechanism.
“We need technology to spot road rule violators and introduce latest mechanisms to detect drunk drivers, map accident-prone areas, deploy officers in and around places where traffic violations take place and enforce strict laws even if the drunken driver is a VIP,” he said.
The car involved in the accident in Wellawatte
Retired Deputy Inspector General (Traffic) K. Arasaratnam said there is a need to deploy more traffic police officers with ad hoc testing in and around night clubs, in city and suburban roads.
“Road discipline is lost with people thinking that it is easy to break road rules as there is a pandemic and police officers are not so vigilant. This confidence should not be given to reckless drunk drivers,” he said.
Referring to the Marine Drive incident, the former DIG said road development bodies should identify roads that are often used by joggers and have the pavements widened or construct a separate jogging track with cycle paths.