Less accidents reported during New Year:

Bacchus held at bay

By Kurulu Kariyakarawana

It is welcome news this New Year season that the number of accidents all around the country was on the wane. This could be attributed to greater awareness and more policing in areas that are usually subject to accidents. When it's festive time in Sri Lanka, Bacchus takes over and the rest is history. Fortunately, this time around with timely action, Bacchus was held at bay excepting for a few sporadic incidents. We now break down the good news for you to digest.

The buffer of a car was smashed in an accident reported at Lake House junction last week. Pic: Susantha Wijegunasekara

Another fatal accident

The Sinhala and Hindu New Year week is holiday time where many festive activities take place in the country. Those who enjoy this vacation, relieved from their day- to day duties engage in various leisure activities including travelling around and visiting relatives and friends- a time for camaraderie. It is also a time when accidents are reported in large numbers due to this excessive traveling.

Although the roads seem to be desolate during this time when public transport virtually comes to a halt, the number of motor accidents however is not less compared to regular days of the year. It is no secret how people in festive spirit would not be hesitant to sit behind the wheel after imbibing in the hot stuff whenever they want to travel. Not giving a thought to safety of the person and of other road users. Driving under the influence liquor or narcotics is identified as the most common cause of many accidents reported on the road during the New Year.

This is why law enforcement bodies like the police stress never to take to the wheel after consuming alcoholic beverages. The regular warning and awareness being carried out against driving under the influence of liquor is increased during this time where there is greater tendency for people to take things lightly and throw caution to the winds when the festive spirit overtakes them.

Those who would never dream of driving a car after taking a couple of 'shots' may sit behind the wheel after being considerably drunk due to the carefree festive mood that prevails during the Avurudu season. It might also be attributed to the fact that less cars ply on the roads on the one hand while on the other , traffic police are few and far between manning the roads.

To tackle this situation, the police department launched a special program not only to conduct awareness but to intensify raids on the roads to make them free of drunk drivers especially during the New Year week. Traffic Police Headquarters joined hands with the Colombo City Traffic Division and launched an eleven-day surveillance operation countrywide commencing on April 10 to April 20. The Traffic Branches attached to all police stations in the country were given instructions on how to conduct the program and to be vigilant. A strength of over 10, 000 Traffic Police officers were deployed to monitor the highways, main roads and even by roads linked to main cities and towns to assure that they are risk free and safe for ordinary road users.

According to this program officers were deployed on the roads round the clock with instant checkpoints set up in crucial locations identified as accident prone. The police stopped and checked all vehicles that seemed to be driven by individuals who were under the influence of liquor.

Although the eleven-day monitoring period ended at 6.00am this morning we could quote the latest details up to 6.00am on Saturday 19th (yesterday) from 6.00am Thursday April 10.

The police have apprehended 1, 631 drivers who drove under the influence of alcohol and out of this 12 were public passenger transport drivers. Eleven of them were private bus drivers and one CTB driver.

There were 563 trishaw drivers, 900 motorcyclists and 156 other vehicles manned by drunk drivers were nabbed.

Expressing the gravity of the situation Police Spokesman SSP Ajith Rohana told the Sunday Observer that 12 public passenger transport drivers were found guilty of driving under the influence of liquor during this period. According to the SSP they not only put their own lives in danger but the lives of a number of other passengers at risk by doing so. This was a serious trend emerging where the police wanted maximum punishment meted out to the perpetrators for putting the lives of innocent people in jeopardy.

Apart from the standard laws and sentences for drunk driving, the police department is about to take moves in the future to appeal to Courts to suspend licenses of drivers of public transport for life if they are caught drunk while driving.

The relevant documentation for this purpose is being currently prepared by the Department that will urge Courts to suspend licenses of regular drivers for at least one year if found guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol.

Presently the law remains with the minimum punishment of suspending the license for three months and a fine between Rs.5, 000 to Rs.7, 500 if found guilty of drunk driving.

According to the figures issued by the Traffic Police Headquarters and the Department of Motor Traffic 51, 764 drivers have been taken into custody for driving under the influence of alcohol between January 1 to December 31 of 2013. And 14, 153 drivers had been arrested from January 1 to April 11 of this year so far. The Department of Motor Traffic had suspended 2, 237 drivers license during 2013 and 364 license up to April 10th of 2014.

However, it is important to note that the number of accidents reported during the new year week starting from April 10 to 16 in 2014 has significantly dropped when compared to the figures of the same period in 2013. A total of 962 accidents were reported in 2013 whereas only 593 accidents were reported this year.

A total of 62 fatal accidents were reported in 2013 with 67 deaths and it had dropped to 56 fatal accidents this year with 62 deaths being reported.

The highest number of fatal accidents were reported on April 13 in 2013 which was ten and the highest number of fatal accidents reported in 2014 was on April 15 which was 13 accidents.

Out of the total figures, 212 grave injury accidents had been reported in 2013 with only 127 such accidents being reported this year. 365 minor injury accidents were reported in 2013 with only 243 reported in 2014. There were 323 instances of damage to vehicles in 2013 with 167 such occurrences reported this year.

This was a significant drop in accidents reported this year which was due to intensified police surveillance and monitoring operations conducted countrywide, reasoned out SSP Ajith Rohana.

Even statistics reported from the National Hospital Colombo show that there is a clear decline in road and traffic- related accidents this year compared to the last new year season.

Training Coordinator and Team Leader in the Accident Services Department of the Colombo National Hospital Pushpa Ramyani de Zoysa said that road accidents had reduced by 41% this year.

There were 266 road accidents reported last year and it dropped to 155 this year.

There is also a 50% drop in alcohol-related accidents which was at 86 in 2013 and only 44 in 2014.

There is a 5% drop of all accidents reported this year which was at 956 and 1005 accidents reported in 2013 during the days between April 13 to 16, she said.

******************

They died in a watery grave...

Although these two ghastly accidents did not fall within the the new year week which was closely monitored by police, many lives were lost in these two accidents.

The victims died in watery graves. These accidents were reported from Aralaganwila and Kataragama which claimed the lives of 15 people, which included adults and children.

Both accidents were similar in nature- both plunged into gushing waters. A landmaster tractor - a common mode of transport in the villages - carrying 24 people plunged into the Z D canal in Aralaganwila drowning 10 people instantaneously - they just could not escape the ferocious. flowing waters which took the bodies with it.

An eye witness account of the incident showed that the victims were screaming for their lives as soon as the tractor plunged into the gushing waters but unfortunately no one could get close to them because of the force of the water.

On Friday afternoon a similar tragedy occurred when a van carrying villagers veered off the bridge that it was traversing and plunged into the gushing waters and the van transporting six people fell into the Detagamuwa Tank on the Tissa - Kataragama Road early last morning.

In the Aralaganwila tragedy, four women, three men, two boys and a girl drowned when the landmaster tractor carrying the large group exceeding the size of its trailer fell into the canal.

The group was reportedly visiting relatives for the New Year in Aluthoya from Nikawathalanda area along the Z D canal when the unfortunate accident occurred.

It is believed that due to the heavy load the tractor was carrying, the driver had failed to control the tractor. Apart from the ten bodies that were recovered, eight others had been rushed to the Polonnaruwa Hospital, where seven of them were later discharged.

In the Kataragama tragedy, two women aged twenty and forty, a 12-year-old girl, two men aged 45 and 55 and a nine-year-old boy were travelling in a van at the time it plunged into the tank.

The nine- year-old boy was the only survivor in this ghastly tragedy while the bodies of the rest of the victims are lying at the Kataragama Hospital Morgue. The group was reportedly coming from Ambatenna in Kandy bound for Kataragama on pilgrimage. Police believe the driver of the vehicle may have fallen asleep on the wheel and the vehicle had veered off the road and plunged into the tank.

******************