Unacceptable national attitude towards safety in Sri Lanka

Safety is defined as the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety also refers to the control of recognised hazards.

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S afety is defined as the state of being protected from harm or other danger: Safety also refers to the control of recognised hazards.

'Safety' is a way of life in most parts of the world. Unfortunately, we Sri Lankans seem to think differently. In Sri Lanka 'Safety Culture' is non-existent! 'Culture' being defined as the "The way we do things around here". Judging from the list of fatal accidents during the recent past, such as the Gerandi Ella accident in May '25 which killed 23 passengers where driver fatigue played a significant role. The driver involved, had been 'moonlighting' as a Tipper driver from 9am to 4pm before he reported for work at 6pm at Kataragama Depot to depart from there at 10pm. Then on 4th September 25 there was another bus accident in Ravana Ella resulting in 16 deaths. Now we have the Na Uyana Monastery accident in Melsiripura, Kurunegala that killed 7monks in one go and injured 6 of whom one died in hospital. Apparently, the car was overloaded when the cable broke and the it slid down the incline. Perhaps proper signage may have helped.