Another tragedy due to drunk driving

Even though liquor shops are usually closed on poya days and during festival seasons, there’s hardly any impact on people. Those who are obsessed with booze would somehow stock up the bottles prior to the closure of liquor shops. The consequences of not imposing a proper law is severe. The fatal incident in Meegoda on Sunday is proof of this severity. Six people were killed and seven were injured after a drunk driver crashed into a Vesak dansala queue. At least 13 victims were rushed to the Homagama Hospital following the collision. The Police arrested the driver but this arrest cannot bring back the dead. This is why it is essential to bring about proper laws to prevent such incidents from taking place. The fact that the incident happened on Sunday, a day that liquor shops were ideally supposed to be closed is another matter that needs to be investigated. This incident may just be another news to people but family members of these victims will grieve for a long time. It is only those who are impacted by a problem who would suffer the most. Therefore, the government should be stricter when imposing laws of this nature. It is equally important to assess the impact of imposing such laws. If there’s limited impact then such laws need to be revisited to ensure that they are strengthened and enforced in a proper manner. 

Athula Perera 
Homagama