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| Speed
monsters in New Year bash Ironically though the number of road accidents during the New Year period had marginally decreased, compared with last year, the nature of the accidents had been more serious and fatal than the previous year. Director National Hospital Colombo, Dr. Anil Jasinghe told The Sunday Times that of the 18 deaths this year during the festive period, nine had been due to road traffic accidents. "Cases related to road traffic accidents have marginally come down from 198 last year to 170 this year. But, the deaths related to such accidents have increased," Dr. Jasinghe said. ASP City Traffic B.T. Sundaralingam said speeding was the main cause of accidents during this festive season. He said at least three children have died and scores injured in a week of New Year road traffic accidents. A cab that skidded and went off the road near Galle Face Green killed two and injured a 12-year-old who was cycling along the pavement on Monday morning. The driver of the cab had reportedly fallen asleep. In a tragic case, two teenage sisters from Waskaduwa, died following an accident at Poththupitiya, Wadduwa, opposite the Valukarama Temple on Galle Road on Tuesday. The motorbike they were travelling on, with their cousin, was knocked down by a double cab bound to Colombo, which hurled the bike under an oncoming van from Colombo. The motorbike with the three passengers was trying to turn to a by-lane when it was allegedly hit by the double cab. The motorbike was hurled on to the right of the cab and knocked again by the van. One of the sisters and their cousin driving the bike were found under the van, while the other sister had died on the spot. The girls were visiting a friend who had invited them to celebrate Avurudhu. On the same day at Seeduwa on the Negombo-Colombo road, two people were killed on the spot on a head-on-collision of a bus and a van. The van in which the victims were travelling had tried to overtake a private bus and collided with an oncoming CTB bus. An eight year-old girl died on the spot and her 15-year-old sister was injured in another case of reckless driving on the Colombo-Galle road, near the Payagala railway gate, when they were run over by a lorry. The girls were among several other students who were waiting to go home having just returned from a service at the Maggona Calvary Church. The 15-year-old is undergoing treatment at the Nagoda hospital. In another incident, a Kandy-Colombo bound bus and Colombo-Ampara bound lorry met with a head-on-collision at around 5.30 a.m. killing the lorry driver and seriously injuring the bus driver. On New Year's day at least 16 people had been admitted to Kandy hospital due to road traffic accidents. The Accident Service reported an increase in the total number of patients having reported to the hospital on the 12th, 13th and 14th, which was put at 732, as against 718 cases last year. Dr. Jasinghe said 241 admissions were made to the Accident Service during the same period. On a more positive note, violence related cases had dropped from from 125 cases last year to 90 this year. The incidents of firecracker accidents had also dropped, with only two patients needing OPD treatment. But Dr. Jasinghe said there was an increase in those incidents grouped as 'unclassified injuries'- those sustained during various Avurudhu sports activities. At Rakwana, two cyclists taking part in a race last Tuesday suffered injuries when they collided against a three-wheeler. "When Avurudhu sports are organised, organisers tend to overlook the injuries that could arise from them. While firecracker injuries have shown a decline, Avurudhu sports related injuries have shown an increase," he said. A 9 highway
terror There had been four deaths, 24 people critically injured and nine vehicles damaged out of the 37 accidents reported on the A 9 highway in the first three months of this year, the TEPS said. Last year there had been 35 accidents, in which four died, 18 people were critically injured and 15 vehicles damaged. Since the re-opening of the A-9 last year, there have been 72 road traffic accidents resulting in eight deaths within the Killinochchi division of the TEPS. Although the A-9 is being reconstructed, the roads are bad with several potholes. The TEPS has tried to crack down on speeding drivers by imposing penalties. |
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