Daily News Editorial

Enforce fine strictly

23 November 2016

The decision by the Transport Ministry to jack up the fines for selected traffic offenses to Rs.25,000, it is hoped would act as an effective deterrent to arrest the alarming rise in fatal road accidents in the country. It is a matter for satisfaction that the Private Bus operators too had agreed to fall in line and cough up the substantial fine. Chairman of the Lanka Private Bus owners’ Association (LPBOA) Gemunu Wijeratne confirmed that his Association had agreed to the fine, to minimise traffic accidents.

This is also a tacit admission that private buses are the chief contributors to highway accidents, due to speeding, to overtake rivals in the mad scramble to enhance their daily collection. It is the self same Gemunu Wijeratne who once admitted that sixty percent of the private bus crew in the Western Province were drug addicts. It is not clear how many people lost their lives or were maimed due to the reckless driving of these drug addicts. Hence, it is advisable that the Ministry takes the additional precaution of devising measures to rid the private bus industry of these drug addicts. For, if indeed they are drug addicts, no deterrent would be too big for them and they would carry on in their merry way killing and maiming people with their daredevil exploits behind the wheel. Perhaps, the Ministry could enlist the services of the President of the LPBOA in this regard.

While the focus is on the private buses, it is pertinent here to note that many high ranking police officers are the proud owners of private buses. Will they condone the fine being imposed on their own vehicles? It is possible that the Traffic Police have been supplied with the numbers of these buses with “hands off “instructions. If such is the case the Ministry’s efforts to put the brakes on marauding private bus drivers will not bring the desired results and our roads will continue to be the death traps they are.

Be that as it may, reining in errant motorists by slapping the considerable fine of Rs. 25,000 is particularly welcome, given that the festive season is round the corner. This is the time that incidents of drunk driving on city roads undergo a spike, with young brats of the super rich, particularly, becoming a law unto themselves. There should not be any let up in this connection and the police should not bow to pressure from any quarter to go soft on any offender. It was revealed that last year alone there were 49,000 instances where motorists had been penalised for drunk driving. No doubt a majority of these cases would have been New Year revelers.

It would also be interesting to see how the police will conduct itself during the Big Match season when traffic and road rule violations by Big Match revelers are the norm. It should not hesitate to come down hard against the offenders although there are bound to complaints of a damper being thrown on the Big Match spirit. There can be no two sets of laws for different sections.

The authorities should carry out a survey, after a period, to ascertain, if indeed, the thumping fine has had its affect and the number of road accidents, particularly, fatal accidents had dropped. Like the Finance Minister said the death toll on the roads had even surpassed the wartime casualty figure of civilians. The death of a breadwinner can have severe repercussions on the families, particularly where the children are concerned. Hence road deaths in the present day have turned out to be a social problem. This is why the government’s decision to arrest this dangerous trend by whatever means has to be commended. Hence it should go all out to ensure that the fine acts as a sobering factor on our motorists, making them act more responsibly while behind the wheel.

Above all, the Traffic Police should be made to strictly enforce the fine, without succumbing to temptation, since Rs. 25,000 is a good incentive to look the other way in place of a hefty santhosam.

That Live telecast Speaker Karu Jayasuriya has gone the extra mile to set up an exclusive TV channel for covering parliament proceedings Live. This special channel will be ready in three months and until such time the Live coverage of the current budget debate will be telecast over a state run channel till December 10, the Speaker told the House. Live coverage of proceedings has its pluses and minuses. While some of our MPs will be on their toes, if not their guard, with the public focused on the contributions made by their erstwhile representatives, there will also be those who are bound to act the “showmen” to impress their electors, clowning themselves in the process. The Speaker, therefore, should introduce guidelines to be followed by MPs during the Live telecasts, particularly against slander and personal vilification. The Chair should not hesitate to name and shame such actors or take other drastic action, lest things get out of hand in the August House during the Live proceedings.