Road accidents hit staggering 37,000

by Jayampathy Jayasinghe

The number of road accidents in Sri Lanka has reached a staggering 37,000, killing 2,500 persons and maiming 600 Police Media Spokesman, SP Ajith Rohana told the Sunday Observer.

He said 12,000 persons also suffered minor injuries due to road accidents and several vehicles were damaged to the tune of millions of rupees. “Many fatal accidents had occurred due to overspeeding, driving under the influence of liquor, not adhering to road rules and negligence.” The spokesman said private vans transporting office workers were also involved in several accidents due to speeding.

Jay walking also contributed to the number of fatal accidents, especially when passengers do not use pedestrian crossings.

Meanwhile, 36 cases of speeding were detected last week on the Southern Expressway.

Police have deployed several traffic policemen at the eight entry points to the Southern Highway to detect motorists driving under the influence of liquor and for overspeeding.

According to the police, six persons die daily on our roads while 85 percent of accidents occur due to the carelessness of drivers. Around 100-150 road accidents occur daily of which 45 percent are serious.