Road accidents hit 6,000 in three months [November 29 2015]

by Carol Aloysius

The number of road accidents had soared to over 6,000 in the past three months and eighty percent of the victims were women. "Over 80 percent of our admissions comprised females while the rest were men. In all these cases, the accidents were due to human factors and could have been prevented if road rules had been observed properly," National Coordinator for Training, Accident Service, National Hospital, Colombo Pushpa Ramyani Zoyza said.

He added that proper helmet use was a must for all motorcyclists, to prevent serious head injuries and not more than two persons should be allowed to ride on a motorcycle. Over 2,365 people died and 6,042 persons were seriously injured in road accidents islandwide from January 1 to October 31 this year. Minor injuries in road accidents totalled 11,688. The number of road accidents this year including damage to 11,200 buildings due to reckless driving, was 31,120, sources at the Traffic Division of Police Headquarters told the Sunday Observer.

There were 1,820 fatal accidents and 4,985 grievous injuries from accidents and 9,350 minor injuries from January 1 to August 31. Compared to these figures, the number of road accidents in the past three months up to October 31 soared by nearly 6,000, sources said. They said the main reason was the rapid surge in the number of vehicles on the roads. New registrations per year are now over six lakhs, sources said.

Zoyza said nearly 13,000 people from 16 years and older had been admitted to the Accident Service for treatment.