4 Pedestrians Died in One Day, One on a Marked Crossing — Who's to Blame?

On November 3, four pedestrians died in separate accidents around the country within hours of each other. A 65-year-old woman was hit by a lorry while using a marked crossing outside Avissawella Hospital, a 68-year-old man in Mattegoda was killed when a car lost control and hit him, another man was struck by an out-of-control three-wheeler near Bagatale Junction in Colombo, and two women were hit by a cab in Kalutara, one of whom died. Drivers in three of the four cases were arrested. One side says this keeps happening because drivers barely slow down near zebra crossings and treat the white stripes as decoration, even though a pedestrian on a marked crossing has right of way by law. The other side says pedestrians cross wherever is convenient, ignore footbridges a short walk away, and step out without checking for gaps, leaving drivers no time to react. Have you had a close call crossing a road here, or nearly hit someone who stepped out suddenly? Who needs to change first — drivers who won't slow down, or walkers who won't use the proper crossing? පාර තරණය කරන විට සහ රිය පදවන විට දෙපැත්තෙන්ම පරිස්සම් වෙන්න.