Lalin’s Column: Road Traffic Accidents (RTAs) -Hard Options

The statistics for RTAs have been quoted like a ‘mantra’ regularly for years by the authorities. Plans and remedies to reduce and bring the RTAs under control are often trotted out.

The citizens however see little real determination, intention or evidence that the authorities have the ability to rectify the situation. Shedding great big crocodile tears to the media cannot wash away the state’s responsibility and accountability.

One person dies in RTAs every 4.5 hours daily. In 2007, 2200 people were killed.

This figure is around par every year . (Very similar numbers are murdered, raped and commit suicide annually). There were also 5074 grievous and 11,884 non grievous injuries due to RTAs that year. The cost to the government for medical treatment to RTA victims is somewhere between one and two percent of GDP and could be Rs 10 billion.(traffic congestion costs Rs 20 billion too).

There has been a surge of mobile and static police manpower on the roads this year, effectively supported by modern technology mainly CCTV. This is a welcome sign of police commitment not only to prevent RTAs but also deter criminals. The sight of policemen on the roads is also a re assuring sign of government in action to protect the citizens. Yet the western oriented and kept critics tried to make out it was a sign of a nascent police state. Until very recently very few policemen were seen on the roads. This encouraged lawless drivers, who having slaughtered and maimed hundreds on the roads, were in the fore front of abusing the police too.

The police have gained a lot of respect by applying the traffic laws far more rigidly and equitably than before. To show how effective they had been they say that while there were 883,943 detections of RTA offences in 1999 there were 1, 803,208 detections in 2007. Unfortunately they may have not realized that there is also a huge contradiction about their effectiveness in these very statistics.

A sense of impunity has been ingrained amongst a privileged lot in SL. The fear of breaking the law that existed up to about 1970 has disappeared almost totally from society. On the roads no bicyclist uses a lamp at night. Three to four people riding a motor bicycle, including babies who obviously never gave their consent, is the norm. Few wear seat belts in vehicles while many speak on their mobiles while driving. Most of the people who die in RTAs are small children and teenagers around 15- 19 years of age and old people. Pedestrian crossings (PC) are/were said to be death traps.

The 30 year scourge of terrorism diverted the attention of the police who were prime targets of the terrorists. They had to think more about protecting themselves and the public from terror attacks to arresting errant drivers. Thus very few policemen were seen on the roads. There were 60,000 RTA deaths alone in the years of terror.

While most of the traffic violations were by those without driving licenses, drink, dangerous driving and excessive speeding caused the rest. It is not too difficult to understand why in a land where the equitable application of law is questionable, many offenders who had the right connections continued to kill and maim on the roads. The worst offenders were not only bus and lorry drivers but included off spring of the criminally rich and politicians. They boasted that there were ways and means to over come the law.

They held the police in contempt. Today there is a sea change in that attitude. Offenders are being taken to court. Drunken drivers appeals to politicians to get them out of police custody are not (very) successful. After many decades there exists a real fear of the traffic police in particular. Order on the roads appears to be slowly taking over from the near anarchical situation that existed before.

While there is much the police can do and are doing to tackle the issue, greater commitment and sincerity by the government is necessary to make an impact on RTAs. RTA deaths caused by VIP’s and politician’s escorts, police and Armed forces vehicles run counter to promises made to tackle the situation.

It is encouraging to know that the Ministry of Highways and Road Development, the Health Department, the police and experts in road traffic management have for some time being tackling this issue together. They aim to produce a viable national transport plan to improve driving standards, give greater effect to the road traffic laws, test vehicles for road worthiness and pollution, improve emergency (road and air ambulance) responses and provide much greater compensation to victims of RTAs. The unrelenting and firm efforts of the traffic police are beginning to pay dividends.

It is hoped that there will be a better transport policy which will give prominence to developing the public transport system to make travel easier, comfortable and safer for the majority of commuters, ease the congestion on the roads and reduce the incidence of RTAs.

The railway system which has seen little or no improvement since independence needs to be much improved by investing a lot on expanding and improving the rail network, making the coaches more comfortable and clean and increasing the speed and the frequency of trains and the facilities in the stations. By attracting the majority of passengers to travel by train, the congestion on the roads and hopefully the number of RTAs will be reduced considerably.

Increasing private vehicles on the roads may help vehicle importers and their supporters but will not help the vast majority of commuters. It will also have an adverse impact on RTAs and air pollution.

While improved road planning, better road designing and regular maintenance is required, even tougher road traffic law enforcement by the police and a change in the behavior of all road users from drivers to pedestrians is essential if the incidence and impact of RTAs is to be reduced.

The laws should be amended so that those responsible for RTAs must not only be punished severely but also be compelled to give generous compensation to the victims. Insurance cover must be such that once guilt has been established in the RTA criminal proceedings, victims or their next of kin (NOK) should be compensated immediately. The present delay whereby a civil complaint has to be filed should not then be necessary. It has made a mockery of justice where by damages to the car are made good by the insurance company but compensation to the victims, many of them traumatized and disabled for life is almost always never made.

The exceptions are the very rich who can afford to hire lawyers to plead their cases and/or even frighten the insurance companies to make payments. If the compensation for death is fixed at about Rs. 20 million a salutary lesson will be taught to both the owners/drivers of the vehicles and the insurance companies who have made unconscionable profits on the blood of the victims. Poor victims are often bribed to accept paltry amounts to withdraw the criminal case itself.

Lives of victims were considered cheap by at least 60,000 vehicle owners in the last 30 years. None if few of them have suffered legally for their sins. Those who are responsible the laws inadequacies should hang their heads in shame.

The following measures are suggested to the Government/Ministry in the hope that the RTA situation could be brought under control. Those responsible annually for the 2000 deaths and 5000 grievous injuries must also be prevented from repeating their offences and be compelled to pay their debt to society in adequate measure, both physically and financially.

1. Change the road traffic laws to ensure very quick, generous and adequate compensation is made to accident victims especially the next of kin of the dead. They should also cover full reimbursement for the hospital and medical expenses and loss of career/pay of the injured until they are fully recovered.

2. Better pay and improved training for the police in traffic control.

3. Greater use of modern technology to monitor and control traffic including the detection of offenders.

4. Limit or prevent these so called ‘VIP’ vehicle insurance policies which have contributed to the ‘culture of impunity’ that subverts the law that requires anyone involved in an RTA to report it to the police. Very often the police are not informed of a RTA offence as long as there is no loss of life or injury, irrespective of whether it was due to drunken, careless, reckless and dangerous driving. The offender lives to kill a human another day.

5. Confiscate and sell any vehicle public or private that is involved in the loss of life. The proceeds of the sale could be used to compensate the next of kin (NOK) of the dead.

6. Detain any vehicle that is involved in an injury to persons and release it only after any and all claims for hospital and other medical expenses of the injured are met by the offender. If the offender cannot pay the vehicle should be sold and the victim(s) compensated as above in sub Para five.

7. Debar the driver from driving for life where there has been loss of life whether it is to some one outside or inside the vehicle.

8. Debar the errant driver from driving for 5 years at least where an injury to a victim(s) requiring hospitalization over 24 hours occurs.

9. Insurance companies to pay for all expenses of the state including emergency services and hospital treatment in case of death or injury to anyone due to a RTA.

10. Insurance companies to pay the cost of repairs (vehicle, property etc) to the victim of a RTA.

SL cannot afford annually to lose 2000 of its people; especially it’s very young to RTAs. Victims of RTAs should not be made to languish in physical misery and live in penury due to RTAs. Some element of blood money should be made as compensation to the injured and NOK of the dead.

The chances of SL being a tourist attraction will soon disappear if the incidence of RTAs exposes the fact that the natives are ill tempered fiends, uncaring for their fellow men, drunk and lethal while driving and openly boorish as they are undoubtedly now. The government must stop repeatedly quoting RTA figures to show off its knowledge of statistics hoping its failure to do anything about it would be concealed.

Instead it should ensure it lowers the frequency of RTAs by instituting an effective transport policy that includes punishing offenders severely and effectively. It must give the police all the support it needs including finances and reform of the connected laws. If not, we may still be called the wonder of Asia - for the wrong reasons. We would have forsaken Paradise and invested in expanding grave yards and building accident wards all over SL.

- Asian Tribune -