Sri Lanka and India have toughened enforcement on drink driving

The authorities in India and Sri Lanka are targeting drink driving in a bid to cut crashes. Both countries have high road accident levels and with high annual fatality rates. In a bid to reduce the annual death toll, similar actions are being taken in both nations that focus on tackling drink driving. Data from Sri Lanka show that in 2012, there were 2,190 reported road-related fatalities and of these, negligence and drunk-driving were the main causes of crashes. But despite increased enforcement of traffic
January 8, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
The authorities in India and Sri Lanka are targeting drink driving in a bid to cut crashes. Both countries have high road accident levels and with high annual fatality rates. In a bid to reduce the annual death toll, similar actions are being taken in both nations that focus on tackling drink driving. Data from Sri Lanka show that in 2012, there were 2,190 reported road-related fatalities and of these, negligence and drunk-driving were the main causes of crashes. But despite increased enforcement of traffic rules in Sri Lanka during 2012, there has not so far been a corresponding drop in fatal road accidents. In 2012, there were some 6,283 serious accidents on Sri Lanka’s road network with, on average, 150 crashes and six deaths/day. Police figures suggest that there were 39,089 reported road accidents in Sri Lanka in 2012, a 5.6% jump from the 2011 figure of 37,000. The Sri Lankan authorities are currently considering what further measures can be introduced to help turn the tide of road related fatalities in the country. Meanwhile in India’s capital New Delhi, a campaign called Road Safety Week was carried out recently. This was organised by the country’s 1143 Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in partnership with the 2462 IRF and highlighted the risks of drink driving in particular. This campaign had the theme 'Stay Alive, Don't Drink and Drive'.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • New tendering process planned for Sri Lankan highway project
    February 25, 2015
    Sri Lanka’s proposed northern highway project is being reviewed and looks likely to be put out to tender shortly. The country’s new administration previously suspended the project due to issues with non-transparent tenders as well as concerns over its high cost. The project was estimated to cost around US$2.26 billion, which the country’s new administration deemed of concern. At the end of 2014 a number of contractors were awarded work to several sections of the expressway linking Jaffna with capital Colomb
    Read More
  • Sri Lanka port road for capital
    September 17, 2019
    Construction work is underway for a new road link to Sri Lanka’s port at Colombo.
    Read More
  • Addressing road safety issues worldwide
    February 27, 2012
    Actions are planned on road safety but are they enough? - *Charles Melhuish and *Alan Ross report. Deaths and injuries on the world's roads are now a major health concern. Road crashes now cause around 1.3 million deaths and injure or disable as many as 50 million persons globally each year. The vast majority of these deaths and injuries (over 90%) occur in low- and medium- income countries adding to their already overburdened health facilities as well as adversely affecting economic and social development
    Read More
  • Kenya’s high crash risk
    December 14, 2015
    Data from Kenya’s National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) shows that there is a particular risk of serious crashes on the capital’s bypasses. In the 11 month period from January-November, 1/7th of Nairobi’s road fatalities were on the three new bypass routes. There were 50 fatalities in 2014 on the three bypasses and for the January to November 2015 period, there have been 133 deaths. Pedestrians are at most risk, accounting for 60% of fatalities, with motorcyclists and car drivers accounting for 7%
    Read More

Highlighted Content