Killers on highways: Private bus drivers without licence

With so much of other work to do, it is not always that the police keep a tab on private bus drivers.

There are occasions when drivers of state-run buses, during their off days, moonlight as private bus drivers. That may not be an offence, one might say. But what of the private bus drivers who operate without a valid driving licence.

An insider who knows the workings of the private bus services says there are many of those. The reason - they are cheap to hire and the owners have no other encumbrances. Some of these drivers have learnt their trade whilst serving as conductors.

An example of how drivers without licence operate came to light when Traffic Police stopped a Kuliyapitiya to Colombo bus on route 92. It happened at Bothalagama in the Koswatte police area.

When the Police found the driver had no licence, they did not allow the bus to proceed. Office workers and businessmen in the bus were kicking their heels for well over half an hour when another bus, with only a few passengers, arrived. It was headed for Colombo.

In a move that seemed bizarre, the Traffic Police did not allow the passengers to board that bus. It seemed as if the passengers had committed an offence. After irate passengers started protesting, the police allowed the bus with its driver (without a driving licence) to proceed.

Police Traffic Chief Chula De Silva said the police had the right to prevent the bus from leaving but preventing the passengers from boarding the second bus was not correct. He has promised to look into the matter. He should also look into how the police allowed a driver without a licence to proceed after being detected.

This should be a matter for Police Chief N.K. Illangakoon to go into. After all, this is how killers are created on Sri Lanka's highways.