Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya emphasized that protecting lives is a collective responsibility and urged society to act with compassion and awareness, not just through laws and regulations to prevent road accidents. She made these remarks while attending the launch of a national road safety awareness program titled “Take Care, Let’s Protect the Road” at Royal College, Colombo.
The event was organized jointly by the Clean Sri Lanka Program, the Ministry of Education, Higher Education, and Vocational Training, along with the Sri Lanka Police. It aimed to raise awareness among school children about the importance of road safety and accident prevention.
As part of the program, police officers conducted educational sessions on road safety for students. The Prime Minister also presented essential equipment for school buses to 25 selected schools, representing all 25 districts of the country.
Addressing the gathering, Dr. Amarasuriya said the program marks another vital step under the Clean Sri Lanka initiative. She pointed out that road accidents have reached alarming levels and have become a major national tragedy. “What’s heartbreaking is that most of these accidents are entirely preventable if only we had the will and commitment,” she stressed.
She revealed that seven people die every day in road accidents in Sri Lanka, a statistic that underscores the gravity of the issue. “Each victim is someone’s family member, a mother, a father, a sibling, or a child. These numbers have stories, pain, and loss behind them,” she added.
The Prime Minister insisted that road safety is not solely about enforcing the law. “We must build a society that values human life, that thinks of others, and that acts with empathy and responsibility. That’s the kind of country the government is working toward,” she said.
She also noted that education should come before punishment, good examples before enforcement, and empathy before accusation. She called on parents to lead by example, drivers to be dedicated to saving lives, children to be educated about road rules, and the police to focus on informing the public before taking legal action.
Joining the Prime Minister at the event were Additional Secretary to the President Russell Aponsu (representing the Clean Sri Lanka initiative), Chairman of the Independent Television Service Priyantha Wedamulla, Principal of Royal College Athula Wijewardena, and senior officials from the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Defense, Department of Motor Vehicles, Sri Lanka Police, along with teachers, students, and school representatives from across the island.
