The reckless sex
As the nation debates the ethics and legality of
underage driving in the wake of last week's horrific accident, a survey
reveals young male drivers to be more careless, irresponsible and prone
to accidents than their female counterparts.:
by Carol Aloysius
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The scene of an accident |
Young men on the roads take more risks and tend to be careless in
comparison to young women. A survey carried out by Accident Services
Unit in November 2015 revealed. The survey was based on the age of the
persons involved in road accident injuries treated at the Accident
Services, revealed that the majority were between 20-24 years (13%) the
second highest group between 25- 29 years,( 11.6%), and the third
highest from 30-34 years ( 9%). The Accident Services treated only 4% of
children since the majority were sent to the Lady Ridgeway Hospital (
LRH).
"Driving recklessly and irresponsibly has a ripple effect. It affects
the immediate victim and society as a whole. Offenders and victims are
mainly young males," says National Hospital Sri Lanka's Accident
Services Coordinator Ms Pushpa Ramyani Zoysa said.
Risks
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Ms Pushpa Ramyani Zoysa |
She said more males than females were vulnerable to injuries on
roads, the ratio being 63 for males and 37 for females.
When asked for the reason, she said, "Young people, especially male
drivers (and pedestrians) take a lot of risks on the roads. They are
more aggressive and competitive when driving and don't think of the
consequences at most times. Many accidents and injuries on the roads are
preventable as they are due to human factors and errors"
"If you are a young man driving your first car on the road, be
careful. Don't drive too fast to outpace the cars ahead of you, or drive
after a drinking bout.
The consequences could be dire to say the least. If you crash your
vehicle because of your irresponsible road behaviour you could die. Or
be maimed for life. Worse still, you could critically injure an innocent
road user harming the victim and his/her family as well."
Regarding the recent tragedy where an under-aged driver had knocked
down and killed a mother and her nine-year-old daughter on a busy public
road, she said "It's a complicated issue. The mother who accompanied the
15-year-old son who drove the vehicle is responsible, being an adult she
should take the responsibility as the driver at 15 years is only a
child. In any case, driving a vehicle at his age is illegal as he is
below the legal age limit of driving, which is 18 years and above,."
Director Accident Services, Dr Samidi Samarakoon said being a mother
of a teenager of the same age, she would never allow her son to even go
for driving lessons fearing he would drive the family car in the absence
of his parents. "It is not so much ignorance of the road rules, but lack
of common sense and responsibility on the part of the parent who was
accompanying the child when he was driving. See what has happened as a
result. Two lives have been needlessly lost. The single living member of
the family is orphaned and her future is uncertain. The young driver
will also spend his life under a cloud. All young drivers especially if
they are underage and experimenting their driving skills on public
roads, should take a lesson from this incident".
No specific laws
Asked if there were any specific laws to prevent underage drivers
from taking the wheel, she said, "No one is allowed to drive a vehicle
on public roads unless he or she has a valid driving licence. The Motor
Vehicles Department only issues licences to those over the age of 18 and
we use the same standard. However, there are no specific guidelines with
regard to underage driving," she said.
No separate laws
Police Traffic Department sources also admitted that there were no
separate laws or rules with regard to underaged driving, except for the
fact that no one under 18 years should be allowed to drive on public
roads. When asked if there was a penalty for underaged drivers, the
sources said the Police could only take action against the owner of the
vehicle, in this case the child's parent. They stressed that the fact
that the child was driving on a public road with his mother was a type
of child abuse, as the child was given an adult's responsibility which
he could not handle. " Discipline whether on the roads, or even in the
use of drugs, begins at home. If parents encourage children to engage in
anti social or irresponsible behaviour which endangers their lives and
that of others, parents must take the rap. Although we conduct many
awareness g programs for the public, they will be of no use if the child
is not disciplined at home. Parents are role models. If they behave
irresponsibly , children will do likewise," the sources said. Sources at
the National Child Protection Authority when asked about the fate of the
child whose mother and sister had been literally driven to an early
grave and is now an orphan, since her father had also died earlier, said
that by law, the child should be handed over to the next of kin. "
Putting her into a home for adoption will be our last option".
WHO Professional Officer Dr Lanka Jayasuriya who handled the Road
Safety Decade, Sri Lanka, launched by the WHO a few years ago. He said
by law no one under eighteen should drive. There were no specific rules
regarding underage drivers. Preventing this emerging menace, the WHO has
recommended that all young drivers who get a driving licence for the
first time should refrain from consuming liquor while driving. "The
permitted amount of alcohol in the blood according to the WHO is 0.02.
But we have recommended that it should be zero in the case of novice
drivers", she said.
With a multi-sectoral Road Safety Council currently overseeing ways
of ensuring road safety, she said that the most important deterrent to
road accidents is legislation. " Strengthening existing laws and drawing
up new laws to prevent road accidents are vital", she stressed. "Rather
than advocacy, what works is legislation. It is a proven fact," she
noted. She said the WHO had identified five 'pillars' of action for the
decade of road safety in Sri Lanka. The first is to build road safety
and management capacity by a monitoring and evaluation process. The
second is to improve safety aspects of road design and ensure maximum
standards for existing roads, protection at railway crossings,
minimizing human activities on the road and developing public
transportation. Improving road behaviour was another important point
involving banning of drunk driving, using mobile phones and ear phones
while driving, use of child restraints, helmets and seat belts.
Global report on Road Safety
The WHO in its latest report published in November 2015, echoes the
same sentiments on the importance of legislation and road traffic
accidents. According to the Report, countries that have been successful
in reducing the number of road traffic deaths have achieved this by
improving legislation, enforcement and making roads and vehicles safer",
it points out.
The report reveals that globally: 105 countries have good speed laws
, 34 have a good drink driving law , 44 have helmet laws that apply to
all drivers, passengers , roads and engine types, 52 have a child
restraint law for occupants of vehicles based on age , height and
weight. It also adds that motorcyclists are particularly vulnerable
making up 23% of all road traffic deaths. Despite these advances, there
was a wide gap between high income countries and low and middle income
countries, where road fatalities have taken an unacceptable toll.
The Accident Service has reported that 20% of persons admitted for
treatment out of 35,549 casualties, were from road accidents. The death
toll, however is much less - probably under 500 due to better management
and being in hospital care, sources said. |