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Fines
up threefold in new traffic laws
Thambiyah Perinpanayagam, Sri Lanka's first DIG in charge of traffic now retired, said the Law Commission meets on July 9 to finalise the draft laws after which it would be submitted to the Transport Minister, and from there to cabinet and parliament. The veteran traffic expert, currently Chairman of the National Council for Road Safety and a member of the Law Commission, told The Sunday Times Business Club last week that the proposed laws would hopefully be ready for implementation in September. Under the proposals, offenders in an accident where the victim is injured would be liable to a fine of Rs 15,000 compared to Rs 5,000 now. In the case of victims killed in traffic accidents, the offender would be liable to a jail term of five years compared to two years now. For the first time, the proposed laws would also apply to the maintenance of the roads. If accidents occur on roads that have potholes or bumps, provincial road engineers will be liable to a fine of Rs 10,000. One of the major features of the new law is imposing spot fines on pedestrians crossing a road when a pedestrian crossing is nearby. The use of driving licenses of offenders (including those charged with drunken driving) is also being tightened. Offenders will be required to undergo education and rehabilitation seminars before being allowed to drive again. Perinpanayagam said the proposed law would however not be too harsh on offenders including those who earn their living as drivers, as they would be given a charge to correct themselves instead of canceling their licenses, altogether. He spoke on transportation, road rules and safety measures, making one of the most interesting presentations in recent times at The Business Club. The monthly meeting was hosted by the Trans Asia Hotel and co-sponsored by Lion Brewery Ceylon Ltd. Perinpanayagam said last year the Motor Traffic Commissioner registered 2.1 million vehicles in the country. On accidents, he said there were 59, 449 motor accidents in 2003 or 163 accidents per day. The main accidents were caused by light vehicles while authorities found drivers within the age group of 30-39 are more responsible for road accidents since they are less experienced. Mechanical defects such as poor brakes are also a major contributory factor to motor accidents. Perinpanayagam pointed out that accidents caused by drunken drivers though often highlighted by the media represented only two percent of the accident rate last year. Drunken driving is mainly reported along the main roads between Negombo and Kalutara. Responding to a question, he said his council is organizing a special traffic advisory seminar for the benefit of parliamentarians, noting that, "lawmakers should not be lawbreakers." Citing examples on laws and safety to illustrate various points during the presentation, Perinpanayam referred to an incident some time ago (when he was in service) that took place on the Negombo road to show that police officers themselves are sometimes not aware of the law. He said a container truck with a load of garments coming to Colombo was stopped by a senior police officer at night since it had only one headlight on the left while the right light was missing. The driver was allowed to proceed with the truck sans his driving license while the temporary receipt listed the offence as "driving without the right headlight." When the truck reached the Keleniya Bridge, it collided with a three-wheel taxi killing all three occupants. Investigations by police revealed that the cause of the accident was the three-wheeler driver's inability to judge the width of the container carrier because only the left side headlight was on while the rest was dark. Perinpanayagam said the Seeduwa traffic officer should not have allowed the driver to proceed only after re-fixing the left side bulb to the right side (which is permitted in the case of containers), and may have averted the tragedy. |
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