The number of Road accidents and rail accidents has risen to new levels from December last year while January too began with reports of several avoidable accidents. On January 1 we read how the Uttara Devi Intercity Express train collided with a car which had caught fire killing the driver after it had been knocked down at a level crossing near the Wanawasala Railway station. The accident had taken place when the motorist had attempted to cross the rail track ignoring the warning alarm and red signal.
It has been reported that the recklessness of the motorist was the cause of the accident. A 70-year-old man was also knocked down and killed when crossing the road by a lady driver.
Concerned Police and health officials have warned all drivers at the wheel to refrain from driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs . A health official speaking on the grounds of anonymity said that since the curfew ended many motorists have begun flaunting all road rules heedless of the danger they pose to pedestrians and other motorists. They also warned that many young underaged students were using their parents’ cars and driving after partying with their friends and experimenting with new drugs that are illegally being smuggled to the country such as herbal pills laced with drugs.
“ There is an urgent need for more education programs to tell them the adverse impacts of these drugs,”,a health spokesman said.
Health sources said that pamphlets and awareness programs had already been initiated to halt this dangerous trend.