By Renton de Alwis
Written and published in January 2011, this article dealt with the issue discipline on our roads. Although new road projects, electronic surveillance and traffic schemes are being implemented, there is seemingly very little improvement seen of the behaviour of our drivers and their recklessness. Not only does good road discipline help save lives, it also saves millions for the government in cost reduction in many areas of the economy. I present these issues for your critical evaluation.
A few weeks ago this column referred to reckless bus drivers calling
them ‘terrorists on our roads’. It also showed that much time of our doctors, surgeons
and the government’s spend on hospitals can be saved by preventing road accidents
with the enforcement of stringent discipline of those who misbehave and
blatantly violate road-rules. The list of offenders include many private and
state-run bus drivers, ‘always in a mad rush’ politicians and their show-off
henchmen, night-riders and drivers who do not have adequate
indicative-protective lighting at the back of their bicycles, tractor-trailers
and other vehicles. Pedestrians walking on the sides of our highways at night
in dark clothing, without a torch-light in their hand, also fall into the
category of offenders, posing much risk to their own lives and the lives of careful
drivers.
Care and caution
Sadly, the saga of road misdemeanours seems to continue regardless. Just last weekend, two buses collided head on, on the Colombo–Hambantota road at Kiula, close to where I live. The villagers counted that about fifty passengers were badly hurt with several loosing their limbs. Children, pregnant women, young and the elderly among them, hospitals in Hambantota, Ambalantota and Tangalle were all busy attending on these hapless victims. Attention to other patients had to be put on hold.
Most believe that exercise of more care and caution by owners and drivers of these buses and the strict and impartial enforcement of road-rules by officers of our Police Force all around the country could prevent many such accidents, saving valuable human lives and cost to state coffers.
The accident at Kiula happened on a Saturday morning, and the principal of the nearby Kanishta Vidyalaya commented “imagine the plight of our students on the road, if this accident happened at a time when the children were coming to or returning from school”. Although no pedestrians were involved in last weekend’s accident, we frequently hear of them being knocked-down by bus and other drivers with terrorist like mentalities.
Innocent victims
The eakle-broom maker of the village, Mahatun Mama was hit by a bus when he was taking his daily produce of the two brooms to the nearby boutique and died instantly. Village philanthropist, Podi Singgo Mudalali was laid to rest when he was knocked down by a drunk-driver of a four-wheel drive vehicle, when he was riding his push bicycle. Nimal, his wife and their little child were thrown away from their motor-cycle also hit by a drunk driver. Nimal’s young wife had to undergo multiple-surgery to save her leg that broke into several pieces. The child had a miraculous escape with only minor injuries, when an approaching bus passed over the fallen child. Such alarming and sad stories of suffering of victims and their families we see and hear are many.
Strict discipline
I remember the days when we were kids in the fifties. Road discipline was tops and the times we were pulled up for violating them, numerous. On our bicycles at night, if there was no light when the dynamo fixed to rub-off the tyre was mal-functional, we could be sure that we had to push that bicycle all the way home. The policeman would, with a severe warning let off the air on the front tyre.
Riding a friend on the front bar of a bicycle would mean both of us having to carry the bicycle home on our shoulders. It was no nonsense discipline and the lessons we learnt stood in good stead for us, even today. As a wise man once said, “discipline for a child begins at home and for a nation, it begins on the road. Get that right and we will then begin to develop as a nation”.
Mad rush
The ‘me first’ mentality on the roads and the ‘mad rush’ to get ahead of others, violating road rules such as crossing the marked double lines indicative of dangers and ignoring safety signage are sure ways of calling for disaster on the roads for careful and hapless drivers and pedestrians. It is the same ethos that extends to other spheres of our lives turning us into a society where ‘might’ takes over, with reason and fair-play taking a back-seat.
Today, we observe some of our police officers themselves violating
road-rules, turning a blind-eye to violations by influential and powerful persons
and nabbing the not-so-powerful and influential. They themselves direct traffic
at junction lights at peak-times in the city, signalling motorists to proceed when
the red light is on. We all have learnt and know what the rule-book says; i.e. one
must stop when a red light flashes and must wait for the green light to appear
before proceeding further.
Gone crazy
Another reality this column had consistently focussed on is the issue of climate change and resultant global warming. We as human beings have for some time now, allowed our greed to override and dominate the need we have to fulfil our basic needs. This has led to over-indulgence and wasteful use of resources, a phenomenon caused by actions of many nations and entities all around this planet. The impact of its outcomes had left the poor, poorer and the rich, richer. Many around the world have been victims of this ‘sickly’ state of affairs, where over eighty percent of the resources on Planet Earth are being owned and consumed only by a twenty percent of its inhabitants.
The crazy weather patters we witness can be attributed to the hurt humankind had caused Mother Nature with our greedy and wasteful ways of living. Some seek to call them random happenings and make believe that these are just depressions caused in different hemispheres. Yet, the frequency and the intensity of the changes that we have ourselves witnessed and seen happen around the world of floods, snowfall, forest-fires, droughts, tsunamis, typhoons, gale-winds etc tell us that it can not be business as usual for Mother Nature.
Just this weekend we also witnessed how, many areas of our land continued to have downpours of rain that caused floods with devastation to agriculture affecting the lives of many hundreds of thousands. Filling of marsh lands in water catchments around cities, caused the flood waters to create havoc and the indiscriminate removal of vegetation and top- soil caused land slides of disastrous consequences in the hilly areas marking the loss of life and property of enormous proportions.
Doing our bit
All this points to the fact that we need to resolve to discipline ourselves from all excesses. On the roads, at our homes, with our ways, in our minds, we would need to reinvent ourselves to be more caring and considerate of the needs and safety of others, We would need to do away with our greedy ways and focus on fulfilling the basic needs of our fellow human beings before we indulge in useless luxurious pursuits.
More roads with more vehicles on them, will not ease traffic and bring better road discipline. Planners must ensure that austerity in the import of vehicles is also taken into consideration and emphasis is placed on enhancing modes of public transport. Lesser vehicles on the road will mean lesser possibility of accidents and lesser incidents of road rage and practice of bad manners.
At this time when we focus on a new phase of our development to seek a better
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