Compensation for dependents of victims of serious injuries increased: Pavithra

The National Council for Road Safety has decided to increase the payment of compensation for the dependents of victims of serious injuries, Transport Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi said yesterdayy.

She said the payment of compensation for victims of accidents caused by unidentified vehicles has increased from Rs. 200,000 to Rs. 250,000 and for seriously injured victims from Rs. 100,000 to Rs. 150,000.

Following the instructions of the Minister, this new compensation scheme will be implemented from next year (2022).

The Minister said that reckless driving, driving under the influence of liquor or drugs, using mobile phones while driving, driving unsafely and not wearing standard helmets was the cause of an increase in road accidents in the country.

Among the vehicles responsible for fatal road accidents, 42% are motorcycles, and 12% are lorries and tippers.

About 40% of the people who die every day are motorcyclists. 30% are pedestrians, and 9% are cyclists.

Moreover, she said, 47% of the accidents occur between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. These facts were revealed at a ceremony organized by the National Council for Road Safety to coincide with the International Day of Remembrance of Road Accident Victims at the Makumbura Multimodal Transport Center, today.

The National Council for Road Safety has also unveiled an action plan to reduce road accidents in Sri Lanka by 50%. "The number of accidents involving motorcycles is the biggest contributor.

Eight people die in road accidents in this country every day. A national program should be formulated for this," Minister Wanniarachchi added. (Chaturanga Samarawickrama)