Grim Reaper in overdrive

Tuesday 19th March, 2024

Hardly a day passes, in this country, without several fatal road accidents caused by reckless drivers being reported. The police are all out to eliminate trigger-happy hired guns who snuff out quite a few lives almost on a daily basis, but precious little is being done to rein in the drivers from hell, who destroy about seven or eight lives on the roads daily.

Eight private bus workers, including drivers, have been arrested recently for working under the influence of narcotics, in Colombo, according to media reports. Arrests were made during a raid conducted by the Dam Street Police in the Pettah area. The police deserve praise for getting tough with the drug addicts among private bus drivers, who destroy hundreds of lives a year in mostly preventable road mishaps. Much more, however, remains to be done to make the roads safe for everyone. The police are scratching the surface of the problem.

Most private buses zing, swerve and turn menacingly as if they had homicidal maniacs behind the wheel. The same goes for trucks and trishaws. One wonders whether the Sri Lankan motorcyclists, who move like bats out of hell, have a death wish. Other motorists are no better. Sri Lankans are also given to jaywalking, which seems to be a national pastime. There were as many as 2,395 fatal road accidents in this country in 2022. Roads become doubly dangerous when indiscipline among drivers and riders is coupled with drinking and drug abuse.

A survey conducted by the Lanka Private Bus Owners’ Association has revealed that 45% of private bus drivers are addicted to narcotics. Their addiction to relatively new drugs such as ICE (crystal methamphetamine) is on the rise, according to the police, who revealed, in 2023, that out of 1,781 drivers subjected to drug tests in the Western Province, under a pilot project, about 100 had been found to be under the influence of dangerous drugs; most of them were ICE addicts. The National Council for Road Safety made available 5,000 drug test kits, which can detect the presence of narcotics in saliva samples in no time, according to the police.

In 2021, the then State Minister of Transport Dilum Amunugama made a chilling revelation: about 80% of private bus drivers in Colombo and its suburbs were addicted to drugs. The situation must be more or less the same in other parts of the country as well.

Roadside drugged driving tests must be conducted on a regular basis in all parts of the country. Test kits are said to be expensive, but it will be a worthwhile investment in that road accidents have become not only a critical public health issue but also a serious social problem. They also take a heavy toll on the economy in terms of productive human capital lost. The World Bank has pointed out, in a report (2020), that high road accident fatalities and injury rates in Sri Lanka undermine the country’s economic growth and the progress made in reducing poverty and boosting prosperity over the past decade.

The need for stronger laws and deterrent punishment to tackle the ever-worsening problems of drunk and drugged driving cannot be overstated. The police must be ordered to go all out to ensure the safety of all road users by nabbing those who drive and ride under the influence of alcohol or narcotics.

Criticism of the ongoing Operation Yukthiya against the netherworld of crime has emerged from some quarters because there are instances where the police personnel engaged in raids are seen to be going overboard or committing excesses. The police also make some arrests for effect. But operations must be conducted regularly against powerful criminal gangs responsible for drug dealing and other forms of organised crime. Underworld hit squads, consisting of former armed forces personnel, are capable of striking at will; they are a danger to society. They have to be brought to justice. The police should give serious thought to conducting raids regularly as part of Operation Yukthiya to prevent drunk and drugged driving to ensure the safety of road users.