Legal aspects of motor traffic trauma in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Motor traffic trauma has become a significant denominator of morbidity and mortality statistics in modern Sri Lanka. In 2010, 26,847 were seriously injured, and 2721 people died as a result of road traffic trauma. In 2014, nearly 38,500 road traffic accidents were reported of which 36% were categorized as “critical” with nearly 7% fatalities. Road traffic crashes have increased by 249% between 1977 and 2004. On average, road traffic trauma kills one person in Sri Lanka every 4.5 h. In the 30 year period of 1977–2007 over 40,000 people have died of road traffic trauma with the cost of accidents being estimated at over Rs100 billion. Increased number of vehicles, poor maintenance of road network and improper expansion of roads, less scrutiny in issuing driving licences, inefficiency of authorities in penalizing for road traffic offences and inefficiency of the public transport system are some of the factors identified for increased incidence of motor traffic trauma in the country. Management of motor traffic trauma victims has become a significant burden for health care institutions. Legislation plays a critical role in regulating motor traffic in a country. The Motor Traffic Act of Sri Lanka has undergone many revisions in the recent past to accommodate new provisions to regularize road traffic effectively. However implementation of such provisions is heavily dependent on the rapid and effective action of the police on road traffic offences and awareness and attitudes of courts towards penalizing offenders in view of streamlining the legislation on road traffic.

Keywords

• Motor traffic
• Trauma
• Negligence
• Drunken driving
• Legislation