There is a famous sticker displayed on motor cars. It reads `Don’t drink, drive and die’. But now we have to change it into `Don’t drink, drive, kill and die’. Thirteen road traffic accidents were reported from Sri Lanka on April 14 alone. Twenty three persons had died in road traffic accidents from 12th to 14th April. Six hundred people had perished in motorcar accidents within the first 100 days of this year. The total number of accidents that had taken place in the Southern Expressway during the past decade is 9,375, which had claimed 66 lives.
The media reported that most accidents that occurred during the New Year period were due to reckless driving. Among other causes were vehicles skidding in adverse weather, drivers falling asleep, mechanical defects, speeding and Driving Under the Influence (DUI). According to the Police, all drivers should strictly follow road rules to prevent accidents. They should drive carefully, paying attention to the road and traffic at all times. Drinking, driving and getting killed is one thing but killing innocent road users including children and making people permanently disabled is not acceptable at all.
Sri Lankan drivers are well-known for violating road rules and traffic rules. Violating those rules is a “hobby” for some Sri Lankan drivers. Some of them even consider violating rules as a “heroic” act. For them, running a yellow or red light is the height of heroism. This is the level of knowledge of the majority of Sri Lankan drivers.
Perhaps Sri Lanka is the only country in the world where simply overtaking a vehicle following all relevant rules is often considered as an offence by some drivers. According to the private rules of those drivers, no one should overtake them, no matter whether those vehicles are transporting patients in a critical condition, going to the airport or need to travel fast due to any other urgent matter. This is a pathetic situation indeed.
It is really surprising as to how they obtained driving licences. The Motor Traffic Department should organize compulsory classes for them to attend before issuing driving licences to them after passing the driving exam (trial). Maybe the authorities can add the knowledge required by them to the MCQ paper of the driving test without conducting separate compulsory classes for them. This will be more practical and less costly. This knowledge should be made a must for all current licenceholders and future drivers.
Usually a vehicle can be driven along a local expressway up to 100 Kmph. Exceeding this limit is illegal and extremely dangerous. This speed limit was posted to ensure the safety of expressway users. Then comes the ‘stopping sight distance’ which can be divided into two sections. The first part is `brake reaction distance’ and the second part is `braking distance’. The braking distance is one of two principal components of the total stopping distance. The other component is the reaction distance, the product of the speed and the perception-reaction time of the driver. Most Sri Lankan drivers have never heard of these scientific facts and figures.
When it comes to safe brake reaction time, an alert driver may react in less than one second, while other drivers may require up to 3.5 seconds. The brake reaction time depends on an extensive list of variables, including driver characteristics such as attitude, level of fatigue, and experience.
In simple words a vehicle that travels at 100 Kmph, travels another 50 to 115 metres by the time the driver thinks of applying the brakes. At this speed, a driver needs at least 185 metres to apply the brakes suddenly to stop the vehicle. There should be a minimum gap of 100 metres between two vehicles travelling along expressways.
All drivers who enter expressways need to keep at least a 100 metre distance from the vehicle traveling in front of them. They should not slow down below 40 Kmph while driving in the left lane. All heavy vehicles should have `Crash Bars’ enabling air bags of other vehicles to protect their drivers if they crash into the back of the heavy vehicle in front.
The first hour of any serious accident is called the `Golden Hour’ due to the importance of the time needed to save the life of the injured person(s). The first ten minutes of the first hour is the most crucial time period when it comes to saving the life of the accident victim. About 50 percent of accident deaths can be cut down if required medical care can be given to the accident victim(s) during this time. What often happens in Sri Lanka is that bystanders video the suffering of victims and the crash scene without transporting the injured to the nearest hospital.
Drivers must also service and inspect their vehicles regularly. Tires and brakes must be in good condition and they must also inspect the wipers, lights, turn indicators, battery and fuel or charge level (in the case of electric cars). They must also not be complacent about the abundant safety features of modern cars – there really is no substitute for good, disciplined driving. Even the safest car cannot save a bad driver.
