Drivers' disagreements about working hours and low salaries were significant risk factors for private-bus crashes in Kandy district, Sri Lanka. Therefore, new legislation for private-bus owners on the working hours and salaries of their drivers to prevent private-bus crashes is recommended.

Background In the developed world higher traffic fines are known to improve the road safety. In Sri Lanka, the traffic fines were increased markedly in 2005; this was done after 20 years of the previous amendment. Objectives To evaluate the effects of increased traffic fines on the road safety in Sri Lanka. Methods We extracted all the police reported crash data and data on traffic offences in Sri Lanka during first quarters of each year from 2001 to 2006. Results From 2001 to 2005, driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI), driving without driving license and driving without revenue license increased markedly and high speed driving doubled. After the amendments, DUI decreased by 28.0%, driving without driving license decreased by 59.5% driving without revenue license decreased by 18.4%, and high speed driving reduced by 25.9%. After 2005, the fatal injury crash rate decreased by 16.1%. Non-grievous injury rate reduced by 10.0% and the grievous injury crash rate reduced by 2.6%. Significance After the increase of fines, the traffic offences showed a marked reduction and effectively curbed crashes causing injuries and deaths in Sri Lanka.

Objectives In this study, we examined the association between risky driving behaviours of three-wheeler drivers and three-wheeler crashes in Sri Lanka. Methods We conducted a case-control study in Kandy, Sri Lanka between August 2008 and March 2009. Cases were all the three-wheeler drivers involved in crashes in Kandy between 1 January and 31 December 2007 (n=95). We included two control groups: a control group matched to the age of the cases (n=88), and a control group matched to the sites of the crashes (n=82). We used the Manchester Driver Behavior Questionnaire (DBQ) to examine the risky driving behaviours of the drivers. Using the multivariate logistic regression analysis we examined the association between risky driving behaviours and three-wheeler crashes. Results The DBQ revealed three types of risky behaviours of three-wheeler drivers: intentional violations, dangerous errors and violations due to drivers hurry. The violations were associated with three-wheeler crashes: intentional violations (control-1 adjusted OR (AOR)=2.18, 95% CI=1.30 to 3.64, control-2 AOR=2.38, 95% CI=1.32 to 42.61), violations due to drivers hurry (control-1 AOR=1.84, 95% CI=1.11 to 3.05, control-2 AOR=2.20, 95% CI=1.29 to 3.73). Driving errors, however, did not show an association with three wheeler crashes (control-1 AOR=0.62, 95% CI=0.34 to 1.11, control-2 AOR=0.86, 95% CI=0.55 to 1.33). Following variables also showed signifi cant associations with three-wheeler crashes: obtaining driving license through private driving schools, carrying more than three passengers in the rear seat, daily mileage above 80 km and driving experience of less than 6 years. Conclusion Road rule violations by three-wheeler drivers were associated with three-wheeler crashes in Sri Lanka.

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IntroductionSri Lanka is a lower middle-income country in the South Asian Region which is facing a growing burden of road traffic crashes (RTCs). In Sri Lanka, RTCs lead to more than 2000 deaths and 14 000 casualties every year. We conducted this study to examine the trends of RTCs in Sri Lanka for the 30 year between 1977 and 2007.MethodsWe extracted the police reported RTCs between 1977 and 2007 from the statistics unit, police traffic headquarters, Sri Lanka. We calculated the crash and the death rates per 100 000 population and analysed the trends of RTCs during the 30 years. We plotted graphs to show the trend or the RTCs during this period.ResultsBetween 1977 and 2003, all types of road traffic crashes increased markedly in Sri Lanka: total (194.8%), fatal (81.8%), grievous (257.9%), non-grievous (69.2%) and damage only (303.5%). However a reduction was observed in damage only (69.1), non-grievous (16.8%) and total (48.2%) crashes from 2003 to 2007. However, fatal crashes and grievous crashes increased by 11.0% and 24.5% respectively.ConclusionSince 2003, damage only, and non-grievous crashes decreased markedly. However such a reduction was not seen in more serious fatal and grievous crashes. In 2003, Sri Lankan insurance companies changed their insurance policies and introduced an on-the-spot payment scheme. No law amendment was introduced in 2003. Therefore the reduction of damage only, and non-grievous crashes could be due to the high under reporting of crashes, rather than an actual reduction.