News
Bus drivers – the other terrorists on the prowl
View(s):Private and SLTB bus drivers in Colombo and the suburbs had a field day flouting traffic rules openly, in the immediate aftermath the Easter Sunday bombings, as most of the the traffic police were deployed to provide security to the public.
Last week motorists took advantage of the shortage of traffic police along roads in Colombo and suburban roads to callously disregard road rules.
No one -motorists, passengers and even pedestrians- seemed to be concerned at the chaos that was being created
Private bus drivers were among the worst offenders as they competed with buses on rival routes in a mad quest to take in more passengers.
The guardians of the law -the police and the military- merely stood by and watched while bus drivers competed to take in more passengers.
Our pictures show private buses crisscrossing lanes, overtaking on the left, and even stopping midway between designated halts to pick up passengers.
Bus conductors too often cajoled passengers to alight from buses in the middle of the road, at the risk of their lives.
DIG Traffic, Mr. Ajith Rohana said priority had to be given to ensure the country’s security, he added that with a return to a degree of normalcy, the police would be able to once again attend to their normal duties as well.
A female passenger alights from a bus in the middle of a traffic block
Bus drivers brazenly flouted road rules in the absence of traffic police Pix by M.A.Pushpakumara
A passenger rushes to get into a moving bus
Passengers added to the chaos by jumping in and out of buses wherever they pleased
A rare sight at that time: A traffic policeman ensures traffic moves smoothly