Pesky pedestrians

by Carol Aloysius

Pedestrians, who repeatedly break road rules (jaywalkers) and think they can get away with it, should think again. Instead of going scot-free as they did all these years, despite a law that makes it a punishable offence harking back to Colonial times, they will now be compelled to attend compulsory educational classes at their nearest Police station.

Thrown into the same basket of punishments is the added ‘joy’ of having to attend these classes on a Sunday morning – a time when they’d rather stay home or enjoy an outing with friends.

“It was largely due to the steep rise in road accidents involving jaywalkers that have been claiming so many lives in Sri Lanka in the recent past, that we decided to launch a special programme directed for their benefit alone,” Chief Inspector P.A.A.T Hemantha told the Sunday Observer when we visited the Traffic Police headquarters at Olcott Mawatha recently.

When asked whether there were certain sections of society who made it their habit to break road rules, he said the offenders covered almost the entire spectrum of the population: from school children to adolescents to the middle aged and elderly belonging to both sexes. “The classes however are only for those from 18 years and upwards. Even a 75 year old could be asked to attend our compulsory lectures if he or she has been found to be physically and mentally fit at the time of being identified by our Traffic Officers,” he said.

What do they discuss at these lectures?

“We start out by reminding them of the basic road rules they should follow when walking on public roads. At the same time, we also encourage them to make a clean breast of specific road rules they have violated- either knowingly or due to ignorance. The fact that they have to do this in the presence of others like themselves as well as some of our Police officers, embarrasses them and deters them from committing another road offence,” he said.

Do they have a record of the number of jay walkers who have attended these classes since its inception ?

“We began these classes about 1/12 years ago. Since then, so many have attended them that it is difficult to keep track. However, we are collecting data and it will be released soon. But what is distressing to us is that their numbers keep multiplying with every class,”he said.

Does that mean that every time a pedestrian steps out on the road he or she is likely to break a road rule either knowingly or deliberately?

“Look at the people walking on the roads these days. If you observe them closely, you will see that only a very tiny minority adhere to the road rules. From school children to adolescents to middle aged and elderly persons, nearly all of them violate these rules with impunity. Jaywalking is now a habitual offence that is spreading through the island. Not even the presence of the Police on duty deters them, as they seem to have got off easily so far, even though they can be fined of even jailed,” he noted.

Latest statistics

The latest statistics on accidents involving pedestrians show that the numbers have changed only slightly from 2013 to 2014. In 2013, according to constable Yahampath, 2,190 pedestrians met with fatal accidents; 6,870 were seriously injured; 13,525 suffered from minor injuries, while the number deceased was 2,362. In 2014, 2,261 met with fatal accidents, 6,847 suffered serious injury, while the number deceased was 2,436. However, he adds the total number of road accidents reduced by 1,827, which is good news,

Was that the reason the programme was launched?

“Yes. After much discussions, we decided that conducting an educational programme to make them aware of the risks they were taking both for their lives and those of other road users, would have more impact on their road behaviour. It is incidentally is the first of its kind conducted for the public by the Police”.

Has it been a success? What do the jaywalkers say?

“We believe the programme has been very successful up to now. One way of evaluating its success is that after their first class most of them have never had to return for another repeat class.

This proves that they learned their lesson once and for all. Many have told us quite frankly they resented having to sacrifice their Sunday morning (the classes are held from 11 a.m. to noon) at a Police station and vowed they would be more careful about observing road rules in the future. So far they seem to have stuck to their promise. So hopefully there will be fewer jaywalkers in the future”.

According to constable Yahampath these include crossing the road while the red light is blinking; not using the pedestrian crossings and darting across the road even when there is heavy traffic. He also identified mobile phone users as an emerging road threat, as everyone from even the garbage cleaners to school children to office workers use these phones while walking on the roads.

“They are so busy talking on their phones that they rarely look in both directions when they cross the road. Some even walk across busy roads carrying parcels of food bought from some café across the road,” he said, pointing out that others have been spotted drinking coffee from a cup or sucking on a lollipop purchased across the street while crossing the road leisurely so as to not spill their drinks.

Still others, he said, walk on the main road without using the pavements, and that when they are in a hurry they even run on the main roads to reach their destinations.

“Jaywalkers also cross the road illegally using the tunnel instead of the overhead bridge. Their undisciplined behaviour could lead to serious accidents – ending in fatalities. To avoid running over them, motorists are often forced to suddenly apply their brakes or swerve to one side which could cause a pile up accident,” he warned.

Time factor

What excuses do they give for behaving in this manner?

Here again the list is long and unending.

Explains Inspector Hemantha: “They have all sorts of excuses which they give hoping we will understand, accept and pardon them. The most common is that time factor. Like, ‘The road was closed because a VIP is passing on the same route. So we had to find the shortest route to get to our workplace even if it meant breaking a road rule’. Or, ‘The train was derailed.

‘...Or the bus broke down and we had to run all the way to office - at the cost of breaking a road rule’. Or ‘I was in a hurry to catch the last bus so I had to dash across the road gesturing to the on coming traffic to stop till I crossed’.

When questioned whether the police accept these excuses, he said an emphatic ‘No’, and explained, “As we tell them during our classes, there is no excuse for putting another's life at risk especially while using the public road”.

Apart from the lectures themselves how else do the police get the message across?

Striking cartoons

A set of striking black and white cartoons at the entrance to the Traffic Headquarters collectively resonate the message that is identical to what is given by the Traffic Police in their awareness programmes conducted for the benefit of other road users such as, bus drivers, tri-shaw drivers, van drivers and motor cyclists.

“These cartoons will show pedestrians the dangers they face on the roads,” he explained pointing out to each of the cartoons that hung on the wall. There an overcrowded bus spilling over with passengers.

Here, a tightly packed school bus carrying students, several of whom had no seats and are seen clutching their school bags and holding onto the seats to keep from falling. Now, a train with passengers standing on the footboards…. Here a three-wheeler crashing a red signal at a unguarded railway crossing.

Next we are shown cartoons specifically directed to pedestrians.

Here we saw a jaywalker dashing across the road under an overhead bridge with on coming traffic swerving to avoid him. A young man sauntered across the road looking neither left nor right while using his mobile phone.

A bunch of school boys chat to one another slapping each other on the back while crossing the road. Almost jumping out of the collage of cartons is the picture of several pedestrians walking on the main roads, while one, a woman at that, uses it to take her morning exercise as she hogs in shorts and white Nike shoes, ignoring the pavements.

The jaywalkers’ programme which started out with only a handful of participants in Colombo has now extended to almost every district in the island.

Information on this programme can be obtained on the Traffic Police hotline 119.