The Police and the tuk-tuk tyranny
The Law and Order Minister was reported to have made a Vice- Squad like raid on the Cinnamon Gardens police station in residential Colombo and been startled to find more than 25 three-wheelers, all of them belonging to the men at the station, parked within its premises. He need not have been shocked at what he saw. It is an open secret that given the fact the Police Department has the dubious distinction of being the most corrupt Government institution (and that is saying a lot), ‘private practice’ among the men in uniform is thriving.
That the top brass or their wives own buses, middle rankers own vans and the cop owns three-wheelers is not a state secret. What the Minister did following his ‘ discovery’, however, remains a top secret. Whatever he does, or does not do, the fact of the matter is that the whole episode is part of the greater malaise not only of bribery and corruption in the country, but also of political ineffectiveness. To say that the canker has spread in the body politic is an understatement.
The tuk-tuk invasion in this country followed a few years after the liberalisation of the economy in 1977 when an influx of private buses and vans hit the roads. Road accidents were the order of the day as a direct result. The tuk-tuk dubbed the ‘the poor man’s Rolls Royce’ or the ‘baby taxi’ helped when public transport was unable to cope with the demand for greater mobility of a burgeoning population and an open economy. The numbers of these machines increased rapidly, especially with VRS (Volunteer Retirement Schemes) in the state sector adding to the unemployed list – and now stand at over 1.1 million three-wheelers clogging the roads with inexperienced and often reckless drivers at the wheel.
When tuk-tuks with two stroke engines were polluting the air with dirty carbon monoxide and cases of asthma among children were on the rise, politicians were reluctant to take action to curb their import for fear of losing votes from, by then, a unionised group dictating terms. Recent moves to increase the duty on new imports also came a cropper for the same reason.
In 2015 there were 378 deaths on the roads caused by three-wheelers, and in 2016 the number increased to 405. This year, the numbers are increasing to as many as 10 lives per week – a figure worse than the toll from dengue. These are frightening statistics.
The US embassy issued a stunning warning last week cautioning women, especially tourists from going in these three-wheelers. It is a terrible indictment when it is the country’s policemen who own many three-wheelers. Many that ply as taxis don’t even have meters. Foreigners are not comfortable – and don’t feel safe engaging them. All the laws to instil some discipline into these manic drivers are still on the drawing boards.
With policemen owning many of these vehicles, including buses and vans, the drivers feel they can get away with blue murder - and politicians are afraid to tackle this growing mafia fearing they would lose their vote bank. One and a half million votes are not to be trifled with for politicians. Safe roads on the other hand, are not election issues, after all. No. 08, Hunupitiya Cross Road, Colombo 02. P.O. Box 1136, Colombo editor@sundaytimes.wnl.lk - 2331276 news@sundaytimes.wnl.lk - 2479332, 2328889, 2331276 features@sundaytimes.wnl.lk - 2479312, 2328889,2331276 pictures@sundaytimes.wnl.lk - 2479323, 2479315 sports@sundaytimes.wnl.lk - 2479311 bt@sundaytimes.wnl.lk - 2479319 funtimes@sundaytimes.wnl.lk - 2479337, 2331276 2479540, 2479579, 2479725 2479629, 2477628, 2459725