## 🛤️ Low-Cost Road Breakers Proposed to Curb Railway Crossing Accidents

Official data reveals a critical safety gap in Sri Lanka’s transport infrastructure, with over 400 railway level crossings currently classified as unsafe. • Safety Crisis: Between 2020 and 2024, 385 accidents occurred at level crossings, resulting in 37 deaths and 105 injuries. • Infrastructure Gap: Of the 1,177 crossings under the Department of Railways, only 300 have gates and 438 have signaling systems. Roughly 439 crossings remain high-risk. • Proposed Solution: Experts advocate for the installation of "sleeping policemen" (road humps/speed breakers) as a low-cost alternative to expensive technical signaling, which often fails during heavy rain or goes unnoticed by distracted motorists. • Implementation Status: While the Department of Railways has begun constructing humps in coordination with the Road Development Authority (RDA), the proposal urges the new government to fast-track these installations at all unprotected sites. • Strategic Impact: Utilizing humps painted in red with "Stop-Railway Crossing" signage in all three languages is seen as the most effective way to force driver compliance, particularly where private crossings (185 identified) lack formal oversight. Based on provisional data and official department reports.