Chairman of the National Council for Road Safety Dr. Sisira Kodagoda said that deaths caused by road accidents amount to a daily average of 8 in Sri Lanka.
He said there were 1,568 fatal motor accidents between 1 January 2016 to 31st July 2016 in which 1,632 persons died. There were 686 deaths caused in 666 motorcycle accidents with most victims being young employed males.
Though most of these deaths were due to riders and pillion riders either wearing safety helmets or using sub-standard helmets , Dr. Kodagoda said it was a pity that there was no SLS standards stipulation for helmets imposed by the Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI ) which has granted a period of one year for vehicle owners and institutions to obtain the SLS certification. No one has however shown any interest in observing these directives, he added.
