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| Sunday, 25 April 2004 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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Jaywalking - economy hit but who cares by S. Selvakumar Jaywalkers are not only one of the biggest hazards on the roads, but also cause considerable damage to the country's economy. They have scant regard for road rules little realising how much their actions cost the economy. Though there are laws to nab and produce them before Courts, the police hardly have the resources to concentrate on this aspect of the road rules. Director City Traffic, SSP R. M. Lafir said that on and off, they nab jaywalkers and pedestrians who cross traffic congested city roads wherever they may choose without using the overhead bridges, underground subways and specified pedestrian crossings and produce them before Courts where they are fined Rs. 50. "But how can we keep on doing this work? We did it some time ago in Pettah, Fort and Borella and invariably found that innocent villagers who visit Colombo, quite unaware of road rules, are the worst offenders", Lafir said. He said that delaying traffic to allow people to cross at whatever point they chose has a bad impact on the economy as people are unable to get to the places they want to at the time they want to. Lafir is of the opinion that children should be educated from their early schooldays to strictly observe road rules so that they will be disciplined adults. In the good old days, even in small towns, police periodically gathered schoolchildren at the sidewalks of busy roads to teach them road manners and give practical demonstrations, but in the recent past, no such classes have been conducted. Another police source said that in Colombo, jaywalking and crossing the roads at any has become a culture even among the educated. They do not even consider the dangers it poses to their life and limb. "There should be organised campaigns to educate the young and the not so young on these aspects", he added. Some pedestrians who were not using the pedestrian crossings, told Sunday Observer that there are not enough crossings, overhead bridges are far apart and more than anything, their transport to the city, whether bus or train, arrives in the city far behind time. "If I have to be in office at 9.00 a.m., the train will reach the Fort Station at 9.25 a.m. I just cannot bother to observe pedestrian disciplines, I try only to cross the roads avoiding the moving traffic and reach my office as soon as possible", one said. |
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