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Driving sans adequate rest, speeding mainly cause expressway accidents: DIG Traffic
View(s):Driving without adequate rest and speeding have been identified as the main causes of accidents on the expressways, Deputy Inspector General (DIG), Traffic Police, Amarasiri Senaratne said. He told the Sunday Times that failure to keep to the left and side track also led to accidents.
DIG Senaratne said accidents are lesser than normal road because motorbikes and three-wheelers do not use the expressways. However, heavy trucks as well as tippers use the expressway and meet with accidents because of driving long hours and falling asleep while driving, and driving under the influence of liquor.
He said that, though police take action against dangerous driving, speeding and being under the influence of alcohol, people continue to commit offences. He added they would be conducting awareness programmes. “If a bus is given seven hours to reach its final destination, the bus driver would wait three to four hours, and then drive at excessive speed to get to their destination on time,” he said.
His comments followed the crash of a State bus into the southern expressway railing, estimated as the highest damage on the expressway running into millions.
The luxury bus belonging to the Katubedda Depot, had veered into the safety fence on the left when the driver dozed off at the wheel, damaging the vehicle and the fence, while injuring the conductor, police said.
“Though the damage is yet to be estimated, the whole fence including 25 pillars would have to be replaced and the Katubedda depot would have to bear the cost,” said a highway authority official on condition of anonymity. The official claimed that more than 1,000 accidents have occurred on the expressways, in the last three years.
A senior official at the Katubedda Depot said that they would pay for the damage and claim insurance, because the luxury bus is fully insured.
To date this year, there have been three fatal accidents with 16 deaths, and 12 accidents causing injuries.