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The highway deaths scourge

While the heavy traffic congestion on our highways is a daily torment for road users, what is beginning to be acutely worrisome is the mounting death toll from road accidents. Apparently, most of these tragic deaths could be considered avoidable because the majority of them are caused by medically unfit drivers. This was disclosed in a news report we front-paged yesterday which quoted the President of the Independent Medical Practitioners Association of Sri Lanka, Dr. S.L.G. Jayasuriya, on road deaths and connected anxieties.

Our report went on to reveal that five to six persons die on our highways in accidents, daily, while 60 to 65 persons suffer injuries from the same source. Thus, road accidents are as potent a source of death and destruction as civil strife and war, in the Lankan context.

Apparently, lax enforcement of rules and regulations at various levels, contributes towards these tragic trends. While a burgeoning vehicle population and a resultant inability to enforce the law with uniform stringency contributes substantially towards road accidents, poor enforcement of regulations at the vehicle licence issuing stage too helps swell this problem of rising road deaths.

Apparently, a sizeable number of persons who are medically unfit to handle vehicles are being issued licences and this compounds the problem of road disasters. Once again, dishonesty plays a crucial role in these sad developments as it usually does in most areas of national life, which leave very much to be desired. We have here fresh confirmation that crooked ways invariably lead to unpleasant consequences for the persons immediately involved as well as for the country as a whole.

What could be gathered is that medically unfit and incompetent persons are easily continuing to come by vehicle driving licences. This indicates that corruption could be playing a significant role in this distressing trend. Besides, the rules and regulations could be so lax as to permit these irregularities.

It is now almost common knowledge that the average, prospective motorist is assured a driving licence by his or her trainer even before the completion of the "training" period. This is substantial evidence that money is allowed to speak freely at various phases in the process of obtaining a driving licence.

All this is nothing new. But if these sad trends are continuing, all that could be gathered is that little or nothing is being done to arrest the rot. There is no getting over the need to tighten the screws and toughen the procedures pertaining to the granting of these licences. Besides, the corrupt need to be weeded out and punished.

An everyday highway scene would reveal the degree to which our police force is overstretched.

While a greater degree of vigilance on their part could pay dividends, they couldn't be expected to police an ever-growing vehicle population with consistent alertness. The time is, therefore, right to introduce spy cameras and other electronic devices which would help trap errant drivers with greater efficiency.

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