Through the Professional Eye
APSL Publication Series, No.2:
How to improve Safety on Sri Lanka Roads
Introduction
Sri Lanka has begun a rapid phase of reconstruction and redevelopment and one of its priorities is to rebuild the country’s infrastructure which has suffered through damage, neglect and under-investment during past three decades. As the developed countries in the world have found, a good infrastructure by way of carefully designed and properly maintained transport and communication network is essential to a nation’s march towards economic development and prosperity.
‘Poor roads and chaotic traffic are the first thing that meets the eye of a visitor entering an under developed country. Roads are a window into a nation’s psyche, a public statement on its state of affairs and how it is being governed.’
This article, the outcome of APSL workshop held in Birmingham, U.K., examines the causes and effects of accidents on the Sri Lankan roads and recommends ways of making the roads safer; It also outlines a way of developing a multi-faceted integrated transport network that is safe, efficient, affordable and environmentally friendly, which could underpin the development strategy.
Benefits of a good transport system
A good transport network helps the population get to their destinations faster in safety and comfort. This helps people to be more punctual and efficient at work with time to spare enjoying with their families and friends. People may also invest the time they save in learning new skills and leisure activities. Safer travel protects the lives & limbs of the citizens resulting in a reduction of hospitalisation, medical bills and days lost to the economy through absenteeism. A happy and healthy workforce enjoying a better quality of life tends to be more creative and productive. A well maintained road network brings down the fuel bills by reducing traffic jams and congestion. By reducing accidents and wear and tear to vehicles, it could also help bring down repair bills and insurance premiums. Thus a good transport network saves costs and is vital to the commerce, industry and tourism; it also enhances a nation’s competitive advantage and self confidence.
Current Situation in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka’s transport network today is poor and backward compared to other developing countries. Roads are unsafe and congested, and modes of transport slow, inefficient and unreliable. People undergo untold hardships commuting to work daily just travelling a few miles.
Roads are unsafe
The death toll and injury on Sri Lankan roads (measured by number of incidents per 100 miles travelled) is one of the highest in the world and most of these are preventable ‘incidents’ rather than the current mindset of unavoidable ‘accidents’.
Roads are slow and inefficient
For example the twenty two mile journey from Negombo to Colombo that used to take 45 minutes 30 years ago, now takes over two hours. Colombo as the nation’s capital and economic hub attracts over 200,000 people from all parts of the country every day. Thus over 150 million hours of productive manpower is lost to the nation annually through traffic jams, commuting to Colombo alone! This is equivalent to throwing away a colossal £1.5 billion worth of human resource by the roadside every year!
Poor public transport
Public transport may be cheaper compared to the West, but poor value due to overcrowding, disregard for health and safety and non-existent customer service. Nationalised in 1958, Sri Lankan public transport has a legacy of apathy and poor management. Reintroduced as part of open economy during the late 1970s, private buses and three-wheelers have added to the road congestion and accident figures rather than improve public transport. This has resulted in country’s leaders and decision makers as well as anyone else who can afford, not using public transport and resorting to their own modes of private transport, which further adds to the road congestion. Also due to this planners and decision makers have little understanding of what the general public have to suffer, commuting to work every day. As a small island with a limited land mass and a high population density (measured by the people per square mile) building a vast amount of wide roads is not an option for Sri Lanka. What is needed is to manage and improve the limited resources we have more intelligently and find more innovative ways of providing transport to the long suffering masses.
Causes of accidents
Infrastructure (Roads)
One of the main causes of accidents are improperly designed, badly built and poorly maintained roads that are inadequate and too narrow for the volume of traffic today. Unmarked lanes with missing or inconsistent road signs and faulty traffic signals are confusing to the drivers and pedestrians alike. Not having pavements, and vehicle parking areas, especially the three wheelers on the few available payments, force the pedestrians to walk on the road thereby putting them at risk. Unlit roads, bicycles and motor vehicles with faulty lights at night are also a danger to pedestrians. A lack of national strategy for road development appears to be at the heart of poor state of Sri Lankan roads.
People
People who cause accidents on the Sri Lankan roads are motor vehicle drivers, three wheeler drivers, motor cyclists, cyclists and pedestrians. Occasionally, animals such as cattle, dogs and wildlife wondering on roads also cause accidents. When accidents happen all the above, passengers of these vehicles and onlookers as well as families suffer from the fallout.
Main cause of the accidents is poorly trained and inexperienced drivers who fail to assess the risks and drive aggressively treating their vehicle as a weapon to get their own way. Lack of courtesy towards fellow road users and failure to follow the Highway Code, e.g. drunken driving, using mobile phones whilst driving, speeding and reckless overtaking have caused many accidents on the roads. These coupled with not wearing seat belts, lack of baby seats and failure to ensure that children in the vehicle are wearing a seat belt, contribute to the death and injury following an accident. Often, poor time management skills that leads to the last minute rush also contribute to accidents. Pedestrians also cause road accidents through their poor road sense and erratic behaviour on the road due to lack of education and training. Many do not read road signs, fail sense danger, and wonder on roads and cross them anywhere they choose. Drunken pedestrians, children and animals as well as people walking on the road due to the lack of pavements contribute to road accidents.
Vehicles
High volume vehicles on roads since the late 1970s, which has resulted from wealth brought in by returning overseas workers, liberalised economy allowing uncontrolled import of vehicles, duty-free vehicle imports given to politicians as well as people resorting to private transport due to poor public transport has contributed to high vehicle density (measured by number of vehicles per road mile) resulting road congestion and accidents. Lack of stringent controls to force faulty, ill- maintained and un-roadworthy vehicles off the road have also added to road accidents and pollution.
Governance
Until the Highway Code and the relevant laws are amended to fit for purpose and enforced rigorously and consistently free from bribery, corruption and political interference this situation will continue. Bribery and political patronage that lets the perpetrators get away and allows some people to behave as though they are above the law, undermines the public confidence and sets a bad precedence.
How to improve the situation
In order to overcome these challenges and make the Sri Lankan roads safer, the following key issues need addressing:
a. Improve the roads by making them wider, providing them with clearer road signs, lighting and maintain them regularly,
b. Change the driver behaviour through better training, stricter tests and better low enforcement. Make penalties steeper for traffic offences as well as retesting mandatory following an accident,
c. Provide pavements and keep them clear for the pedestrians to use, increase their road sense and safety awareness through schools and media,
d. Introduce stricter controls and checks on vehicles to ensure their roadworthiness and force unfit vehicles off the roads,
e. Ensure the country’s Highway Code and traffic laws are amended and fit for purpose, enforce them rigorously, and consistently, free from fear and favouritism.
f. Reduce the number of vehicles on the roads especially the private cars with a single occupant by making the public transport safer, punctual and more affordable.
Who to involve
Change of this scale needs the nation’s buy-in, which can only be achieved by involving the key stakeholders:
a. The victims of road accidents, i.e. those who have suffered injury, pain and/or disability, their affected families, bereaved parents, widows, orphans and the kith and kin who would be quite passionate and vocal in making the roads safer,
b. Medical professionals, A&E, orthopaedic, physiotherapists, counsellors who see death and injury and deal with the aftermath of road accidents on a daily basis,
c. Teachers, religious leaders and the media who have significant influence on the public and especially the children,
d. National and regional authorities and regulators, police, ministry, highways agency, planners and politicians in designing, funding and implementing a national transport strategy,
e. Other stakeholders such as the insurance companies and tourist Industry who could benefit from improved safety on Sri Lankan roads.
Making real gains through innovation
The above steps can go a long way in reducing accidents and pollution on Sri Lankan roads in the short to medium term. However, a more creative and co-ordinated approach is needed in the long term. The aim should be to minimise people’s need to travel as a means of creating wealth. Following are some innovative ideas for improving safety and efficiency on roads and minimising the need to be on the road.
Creating regional economic hubs that are inter-connected by express trains and broadband internet would make it unnecessary for many people to travel to the capital for business. This could be achieved by relocating ministries and admin offices out of the capital and that in turn would lead to wealth redistribution and job creation in the regions.
Better broad band connectivity across the nation allowing greater use of internet technology for online shopping, economic, educational and leisure activity would further reduce the need to travel thus saving time and fuel as well as reducing carbon emissions.
Scalable (peak: Off-peak) ticket pricing could be used to encourage off peak-time travel by the non-commuter traveller to spread the load and reduce the strain on transport network.
Make travel smarter by making the traveller better informed through technology and education to avoid congestion and accident spots etc, e.g.
· Travel news through radio, phone numbers (e.g. UK AA Road Watch),
· Traffic information websites (e.g. UK Highways Agency),
· Journey planners such as MultiMap, StreetMap and SatNav
Reduce the need for road transport by developing alternative transport systems such as trains, trams, underground trains, waterways and air transport.
Conclusions
· A good transport network has significant benefits to a country and its people, and it plays a major role in a country’s development and prosperity.
· The unsafe and inefficient roads are a major hurdle that needs to be overcome urgently if Sri Lanka’s is to achieve lasting and sustainable development including carbon reduction in the environment
· In reducing accidents, immediate areas for improvement are the roads, vehicles, drivers and pedestrians.
· The long term priority should be to reduce the number of vehicles on the road by improving public transport, reducing people’s need to travel as well as diversifying the modes of travel to take the pressure off road transport.