Road terror rages on

By Nalaka Nonis

The recent alarming rate of fatal accidents, that culminated in the horrific road tragedy in Induruwa that killed 23 and injured scores on Tuesday, has raised serious questions about road safety mechanisms adopted by authorities. In the past three months alone 100 have been killed and many injured in road accidents.

The main reasons for the increasing number of fatal accidents have been attributed to the failure on the part of the authorities to enforce road rules and the callous disregard on the part of motorists to obey traffic rules.

Horrific scene at the Induruwa tragedy. Pix by Saman Kariyawasam

Former Traffic DIG, President Ceylon Society for the Prevention of Accidents and Director General of the Institute of Road Traffic Education T. Perimbanayagam said it has become a challenge for the authorities to enforce traffic laws and introduce a system to ensure road safety as the number of vehicles on the roads was increasing rapidly day-by-day.

Pointing out that it was not only the responsibility of the police to see that rules and regulations with regard to road safety were followed, he said the Road Development Authority (RDA), the Motor Traffic Department, the National Transport Commission, Department of Motor Traffic, the Sri Lanka Transport Board, the Ceylon Society for the Prevention of Accidents, Automobile Association and provincial authorities should also coordinate to ensure road safety.

Mr. Perimbanayagam said the traffic police had minimal facilities to carry out their duties. Traffic police claim that 60 percent of road accidents occur due to over-speeding.

Mr. Perimbanayagam said the police have been equipped with 400 speed meters that have been distributed among police stations mostly in town areas. However he said most of the fatal accidents occurred in rural areas. According to a government gazette issued in 1995 speed limits had been amended to 50 km per hour in cities and town areas (built up areas) and 70 km in outside areas for private cars and vans while speed limits for lorries and buses is 50 km per hour in built-up areas and 60 km per hour outside.

He said another hindrance police face is that officers on traffic duty are not properly trained to meet present day challenges on the road. He said though refresher courses on traffic are conducted regularly for the police, the policemen on the field rarely benefit from them as these courses are mainly attended by senior police officers.

He also said drivers were not tested on their ability to drive at night, overtake vehicles etc. when issuing licences. He also emphasized the need for transport authorities to conduct refresher courses on a regular basis to inform and update drivers on increasing challenges on the road.

Doctors at Balapitiya hospital attend to a victim of the Induruwa tragedy

Mr. Perimbanayagam said if the demerits points scheme in the Motor Traffic Act is implemented 50 percent of the accidents could be reduced and drivers disciplined. According to statistics on road accidents in 2005 and 2006, the most number of accidents involved motor cycles, while lorries came second, three wheelers third and private buses fourth.

The numbers of fatal accidents in 2003 stood at 1933 while in 2004 the figure was 2116. In 2005, 2141 fatal accidents had been reported while last year there have been 2065 accidents. A former IGP who didn’t want to be quoted said he believed the main reason for the increasing number of accidents was that the road network had not been developed to cater to the demand of the increasing number of vehicles. He said both drivers and pedestrians were equally responsible for the upsurge in accidents and all that the police could do was to help enforce road discipline.

He claimed the police were doing a good service to reduce accidents despite the lack of facilities. Meanwhile Traffic Police Headquarters ASP H.G. Sirisena said although the police were vigilant about the safety of people on the road they could do little to prevent accidents that occur as a result of recklessness on the part of motorists.

He said seminars and refresher traffic courses on road safety were conducted frequently for police. M. Ghani, coordinator of National Council for Road Safety said most of the accidents occurred due to the carelessness and negligence on the part of drivers.

He also said the lack of police vigilance is also another reason for the increasing number of road accidents. Mr. Ghani said his institution conducts regular discussions on road safety issues with 17 other institutions.

Heavy workload brings in heavy tears

The wife of the truck driver who died in the Induruwa tragedy said, she believed her husband was over burdened with work. Vajira Dissanayake, said her husband, 46-year-old Athula Lincoln had joined Freight Links three weeks ago. Athula Lincoln She said he had been working for long hours during the past few days ahead of the festive season, delivering beverages for a beer company. She said her husband came home from work on Sunday morning and went back the same morning before 8 a.m. saying he had to deliver a consignment in Anuradhapura. “That was the last time I saw him. He was in a hurry to go. He said he would not be able to come home for the New Year too, since he had a lot of work,” a tearful wife said. She said they had three children and her husband had worked in various places as a truck driver for 16-years and hadn’t faced any major accidents. Vajira Dissanayake Vajira said she got to know that her husband had left for Galle with a consignment of beer around 4 a.m. on that fateful day and was shocked to learn of his death as he was a careful driver. “We heard the news on TV in the morning that a truck belonging to a company in Biyagama had met with a fatal accident, and so I inquired from the company, only to hear that my husband was the driver of that truck,” Vajira said, adding that her husband’s sudden death was a big blow to her family since her three boys were still schooling.

A promise to go shopping still awaits…

By Gamini Mahadura The driver of the bus involved in Tuesday’s accident had left home with the promise that he would accompany his wife on New Year shopping the next day. Priyantha Rohana, 34 attached to the Udugama CTB depot had married eight months ago and was looking forward to the birth of their child in three months. His widow, D.D.Suranji, 27 said her husband had as usual left home early morning on his motor bicycle assuring her that they could go shopping the next day as it was his day off. “After he left I went to sleep again and saw this unusual dream where my husband was dressed in a white shirt and black trouser and a heap of sand in the middle of the garden. A little while later I was informed about the accident,” she said. Rohana’s body was the only one that had no burn injuries. He was taken to the Balapitiya hospital where he underwent two surgeries and eventually passed away. Rohana took turns with another in driving this bus. N.G.Sugathadasa, the other driver described Rohana as a friendly person. “He had a good rapport with the passengers and they would buy us gifts for avurudu,” he said. He said there were six buses in the depot that operated to Colombo and this was the first time that one had met with an accident.