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Students stable, more action to be taken against errant van drivers

19 January 2012 12:32 pm - 12     - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

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The condition of the four students who were injured when the school van they were travelling in crashed into a bus in Mount Lavinia on Wednesday had improved and they are in a stable condition according to hospital authorities.

They are currently receiving treatment at the Colombo South General Hospital in Kalubowila. The 21 year old van driver who drove the van at a speed exceeding 80 kilometres per hour was discharged from the hospital on Wednesday evening and was remanded till January 30 after being produced before the Mount Lavinia Magistrate.

Nine school children were injured due to the accident which took place at 7.00am. Five of them were discharged on the same day after sustaining minor injuries. Currently two girls and two boys are receiving treatment at the Colombo South General Hospital.

Police media spokesman Ajith Rohana said that the police are taking steps to inform the courts to suspend the drivers license for his entire life time. He also said that the police will take steps to monitor the condition of vehicles which are engaged in transporting school children and check the road worthiness of these vehicles on a regular basis.

The accident brought the attention of the authorities in the transport sector and also the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) on the need to introduce regulations to deal with such errant drivers and for vehicles which are not suitable for transporting students.
 
Last year alone 224 children, mainly school children between the ages of one and 19 were killed due to accidents. (Supun Dias)


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  Comments - 12

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  • Jagath Thursday, 19 January 2012 01:34 PM

    What should be done is to ,

    Impose a speed limit of 40kmph from 6:30 AM to 9:30 AM on galle road from Moratuwa to Colpety

    niyaz noordeen Thursday, 19 January 2012 04:07 PM

    We Sri Lankans have a short memory. Bet you everything will be forgotten in a week or two and these maniac will be on the roll again. We will bring in laws only when such incidents happen but they will never be implemented. This is why people don't give two hoots to the law.

    saman Thursday, 19 January 2012 04:05 PM

    Killing of 224 children by road accident is nothing for country like srilanka. Because anybody can get license just staying at home and following day you can drive any vehicle like van,buses.trucks lorries or containers.RMV needs money not quality ,safety or grading.

    jude perera Thursday, 19 January 2012 04:41 PM

    The police should come down hard on trafic violators. They should impose fines on those who do not maintain lane disipline, impose heavy penalties on those drivers that don't adhear to trafic lights at intersection irrespective of who they are or what they drive ; be it car,van, bus, lorry tfishaw or even motor cycles., I am sure the auth0rities can generate large amounts of money.

    pat Thursday, 19 January 2012 05:23 PM

    The Govt. should take the road accidents and loss of innocent lives seriously. Whilst punishing the errant drivers after damage is done, it is more important to prevent or reduce such accidents in future. Such preventive measures may include a special permit for drivers and vehicles used for student transport and a max. speed limit of 50 kmph.

    Dilan Fernando Thursday, 19 January 2012 06:55 PM

    Thanks God they are safe ! Pray to God for a fast recovery of this 4 innocent children.

    Sammy Friday, 20 January 2012 04:29 AM

    It is not only about road worthiness of vehicles that should be checked but also stringent, exemplary and deterrent action should be taken against errant drivers.

    Adrian Friday, 20 January 2012 04:34 AM

    All school vans should be registered and checked for road worthiness with a speed limit clearly marked on the vans. all vans should carry only the permitted number of children and the number of seats also should be checked. All school vans should also have carry full insurance. No children should be allowed to standing and all seat belts must be used irrespective of the registration number.

    MOHAMED ASFAR Friday, 20 January 2012 05:37 AM

    the vehicles which were unusable for any purpose comes to school service as the last chance. so, naturally 99 % of those vehicles are not roadworthy. and the drivers are equal to three wheel drivers in breaking the traffic laws. how they are passing the emission test and other tests is a mystery. god save our children.

    nihal Friday, 20 January 2012 05:44 AM

    This is the consensus of a vast majority of Sri Lankan people. IGP is TRYING to to a good job, but weeding out bribery and corruption from the [police force is like trying to wash a leopard of its spots. How can the person on the road respect the law, when the protectors of the law are breaking it without a second thought? WE HOPE THAT THIS DRIVER'S LICENSE WILL BE TAKEN AWAY FROM HIM FOR LIFE. LETS HOPE THE NCPA, RMV AND THE POLICE MAKE SURE THIS HAPPENS!!

    roshan raz Friday, 20 January 2012 05:53 AM

    you must be a retired person. if you 40 kmph is imposed we will have to start in the midnight to go to schools and offices.

    Rizvi Friday, 20 January 2012 06:43 AM

    Increase salaries for the low rank police officers to meet there ends and see for sure they will do a good job if trained proper. (of course they should be immune from political and bad influences)
    Am I kidding?


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