Editorial
Mass murder?
Monday 22nd March, 2021
Saturday’s bus tragedy, which shook the nation, cannot be considered a mere road accident. Going by a widely circulated video of the incident, one wonders whether it was a case of mass murder; the driver of the bus that plunged down a steep precipice, killing 14 passengers and injuring about 53 others, obviously knew what he was doing; was deliberately endangering the lives of passengers when he sped maniacally and swerved the bus without reducing speed on seeing an oncoming vehicle. Moving towards the speeding bus recklessly was a tipper truck, whose driver was apparently not in his proper senses; he did not leave enough room for the bus to pass safely, and bolted after the incident.
The police were prompt to blame the bus driver for the tragedy and explained in detail how the incident had happened. But aren’t there others who should take the blame for the tragedy? A boulder has been obstructing a part of the road, following a rockfall, for over two months, we are told. Apart from a few traffic cones placed near the boulder, there were no warning signs on the other side of road skirting the precipice. Why didn’t the police take action to have the road cleared to prevent accidents? It is not possible that they were unaware of the rockfall and the boulder. Instead of having two sleeping policemen (aka speed bumps) to deter speeding at the dangerous double bend, the police slumbered. The traffic police must be made to explain their serious lapse, which, in our book, amounts to criminal negligence, which should not go unpunished.
No sooner had the tragedy occurred than some workers who looked like the Road Development Authority (RDA) personnel rushed to the scene and taped off the road shoulder that had given way. The RDA was busy putting up a safety fence there yesterday, according to media reports. Had it taken such action earlier, Saturday’s disaster could have been averted. Why didn’t the RDA remove the boulder for two months? Action is called for against the RDA as well. The possibility of the RDA being made to compensate the families of the victims must be explored.
A government MP from Badulla has claimed he sought to have the boulder removed, but in vain. He once made a female school principal kneel before him for refusing to carry out his illegal orders. Why didn’t he go the whole hog to have the road cleared?
A World Bank survey has revealed that Sri Lanka has the worst road fatality rate among its immediate neighbours in the South Asian region; about 38,000 crashes occur annually causing around 3,000 deaths and 8,000 serious injuries, it says. The survey report informs us that the country’s poor road safety performance is a symptom of underinvestment in targeted initiatives. But we hear some political leaders boast of having carried out many road development projects! They seem unable to understand that road development does not mean mere road surface rehabilitation. Many are the roads that have been newly carpeted without sidewalks on either side to ensure the safety of pedestrians. Some of them are arterial roads running through bustling townships; no wonder there so many killer accidents.
Many private bus and truck drivers are addicted to drugs. The police nab only drunk drivers. Druggies behind the wheel can be equally dangerous, but they never get caught because there are no facilities for roadside drug testing. The Lanka Private Bus Owners’ Association itself has called for action against drug addicts among bus workers. Successive governments have ignored this call. The need for conducting random drug tests on drivers and riders cannot be overemphasised.
We have witnessed many killer accidents over the last few years, but curiously they have not jolted the police, the RDA, governments and others responsible for ensuring road safety into adopting preventive measures. How many more people do they think should die before they decide to take action?