Road Deaths


First quarter of 2010 has recorded 287 fatal traffic accidents.As person who held a driving licence for four decades and being driving daily ,I am aware that ,road conditions, vehicle condition and factors in drivers cause road accidents.In Sri Lanka the major causes are incompetent and reckless drivers who violate traffic law.
Out of these 287 deaths at least 280 could have been prevented.The prevention strategy does not involve money. I am mentioning this because in Sri Lanka non availability of funds is cited as an excuse very frquently.It needs only being sensitive.All road users should be sensitive to the rights of other road users.This includes pedestrians too.They should use pedestrian crossings to cross when they are available.It is surprising to see the disregard of pedestrians for their own safety.Road discipline has to be imposed.VIP motorcades should set an example as there is no terrorists threat now.
It will be a good move to show video clips of a busy intersection in Sri Lanka followed by a similar video clip from a dicplined country on peak viewing hours on TV.Some of our fellow citizens use the highway way they are doing now because they are not aware of a better way to use the highway!