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Reckless heavy vehicle drivers causing crashes raise alarm
View(s):- Traffic police officers share possible solutions to minimise road accidents
Heavy vehicles and buses have been responsible for some of the biggest tragic accidents across the country in recent months.
Reckless driving, fatigue and speeding have contributed to many of the accidents, including the one at Kuliyapitiya, where two children and a school van driver were killed when a tipper truck carrying a load of sand crashed onto the van.
Initial investigations show that the tipper truck had swayed into the lane of the school van on the bridge. The driver is suspected to have fallen asleep. He was arrested.
Kuliyapitiya: Two children and a school van driver were killed when a tipper truck carrying a load of sand crashed onto the van
Police revealed that the 23-year-old driver, a resident of Marawila, had been working for 24 hours before the crash.
Driver fatigue and the lack of sleep have been found to be one of the main causes of accidents involving heavy vehicles.
A few hours after the accident in Kuliyapitiya, another lorry transporting fish had crashed into a tipper truck and another vehicle in Ibbankatuwa on the Dambulla-Galewela road.
Due to the impact of the crash, both rear wheels of the tipper truck had dislodged.
On the following day, another lorry transporting a stock of glass had crashed into a bridge on the Horowpathana-Kahatagasdigiliya road at Elayapaththuwa, claiming the life of a grade five schoolgirl and the lorry assistant. The schoolgirl had been walking back home.
Police said that the driver had fallen asleep.
In the provinces, a cross section of traffic police officers said that they have found that most heavy vehicle drivers involved in accidents have admitted working long hours.
“Very often drivers tell us that they have travelled from Vavuniya or Anuradhapura in the morning to Colombo and were returning home at night with goods loaded. This would mean they have been driving 15 to 16 hours,’’ a police officer from Puttalam said.
He said that though all accidents are not fatal, they could be fatal depending on the situation.
“Sometimes, the vehicle had veered off the road and hit a tree, suffering little damage and few minor injuries, but it could be a major disaster if it crashes into a passenger bus.’’
The inquiry into the Gerandi Ella bus accident, which claimed 23 lives in May this year, noted driver fatigue as one of the main causes for the accident.
Immediately after the Kuliyapitiya fatal accident, concerns have been raised over heavy vehicles during school hours.
Kuliyapitiya’s Education Director Bandulani Basnayake pleaded in public that a policy decision be taken to ban heavy vehicles during the mornings.
Police spokesman F.U. Wootler claimed that in the Western Province there is a ban on heavy vehicles.
However, school van drivers and parents said the ban is observed in the breach.
The concerns over accidents involving heavy vehicles come as the number of fatal accidents continues to rise.
This year, until Thursday, there were 1,686 fatal accidents reported, claiming the lives of 1,784. On average eight people are killed every day.
In addition, 3,428 accidents were reported from January this year until Thursday, while another 6,241 minor accidents were reported.
Police said that another concern is about heavy vehicle drivers who take various drugs or use various narcotic substances which they believe could help them to stay awake.
Police officers said they lacked equipment to carry out random checks on suspected drivers on drugs.
A lorry transporting fish crashed into a tipper truck and another vehicle in Ibbankatuwa a few hours after the Kuliyapitiya accident. Pix by Kanchana Kumara Ariyadasa
The failure of the police to regulate bus drivers has also been noted as one of the main reasons for accidents.
A senior police officer said that despite several attempts to discipline bus drivers, it has been a losing battle.
He said that, near the main bus stops, drivers change lanes at will.
The officer said the same mentality prevailed throughout their journey, sometimes overtaking vehicles dangerously.
He said the demerit system, where points given to each driver are gradually reduced according to the traffic offence committed, is one of the best ways to discipline drivers. But due to lack of infrastructure, its implementation has been delayed.
He said, however, under the digitisation programme, the police have been told that there is renewed interest in implementing the demerit system.
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