The official launching ceremony of the ‘School Road Safety Clubs’ was held under the patronage of Education Minister Dr. Susil Premajayantha and Transport, Highways and Mass Media Minister Dr. Bandula Gunawardhana at the Education Ministry auditorium recently.
The release of the official theme song of the School Road Safety Clubs, the teacher’s guide book and the handbook also took place on this occasion.
It has been planned under this new initiative to assign a teacher to each school to supervise the road safety clubs, to streamline the traffic control by students, to award medals to students who successfully complete the theory and practical sessions of traffic control and to recognise the President Medal of Road Safety as an extra qualification to earn points for the university admission.
The students who acquire the traffic control knowledge will also be eligible to directly appear for the practical test in obtaining their driving licence without sitting the written test after reaching the appropriate age.
The ‘School Road Safety Clubs’ programme is implemented by the National Council for Road Safety, Road Development Authority, Sri Lanka Police Traffic Division, Department of Motor Traffic, National Institute of Transport Medical and the Central Environment Authority.
Speaking on this occasion, Minister Dr. Gunawardhana said that it has been a huge problem faced by the country to lose around eight lives a day due to road accidents. Even on the expressways, a large number of accidents are reported every year.
According to a committee appointed by the Ministry, it has been revealed that around 56 per cent of the accidents on expressways have occurred due to the recklessness of the drivers.
Drunk-driving, high-speed, careless overtaking and using mobile phones while driving are some of the reasons for expressway accidents. In addition the bad weather and the defective vehicles are also other reasons for the expressway accidents, he pointed out.
The Minister also said steps have already been taken to minimise the accidents in the upcoming festive season.
The launch of School Road Safety Clubs will be a successful initiative in providing mid-term and long-term solutions to address the increasing road accidents, the Minister added.
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