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Traffic fines – how the US does it
I am writing this from California, reference to the present controversy over the traffic fines. In USA, the offenders have to attend the Traffic School for the first violation. The wrongdoers have the freedom of selecting the venue, usually weekend or night for the convenience of the working, but need to pay a nominal fee, through the government, to the instructor.
The instructor is usually a traffic judge; the class is for a duration of eight hours and one cannot leave the premises. No phones are allowed and
the offenders have to bring their own meals. The eight hours is solid training, which could contain audio visual instructions.
They suggest several simple quizes to test the knowledge, and other skills such as language and education. It could be a multiple exam, with different question papers. In US I think there are four or five types, to prevent copying and the examiner has four or five types of stencils to correct them quickly.
I understand that people in Sri Lanka love to copy the styles of advanced countries, and why not traffic? Unfortunately our brethren have this scant arrogance for ‘Law and order’ with ‘I do not care attitude, because I am so and so’.
To prevent that, offenders should write a short remark, in their own handwriting that should be scanned and preserved under their licence number for future fines, or temporary licences.
Chandima Munindradasa, USA.
Auditors for Govt constructions
In the recent past, there has been much discussion on making Sri Lanka a destination for higher education. Education, especially, higher education, is now big business, with MSc fairs and universities employing business development managers to tap into this lucrative market.
In Sri Lanka, we have witnessed several demonstrations by university students, when similar courses were started by private Institutions, arguing that their admissions to universities were on merit, while others get Degrees because they have the money, and that it is a potential threat to their future employment.
The ideal way forward would be to start a new course of study that has a substantial global market, not available anywhere in the world, at present. It will certainly put Sri Lanka on the world map as a Higher Education hub.
Government constructions have to be audited by trained construction professionals to reduce or eliminate loss due to frauds. There is an urgent requirement for a Postgraduate course on construction auditing, which has a potential for 400,000 - 500,000 auditors per year. This is the ideal time, as nearly a decade after the report by Transparency International, some positive actions are taking place, such as: the United Nations considering a Supreme Audit body for countries, Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption, (GOPAC) an organization of more than 150 countries suggesting a technical audit in addition to the financial, for government constructions, and a union for such auditors by their Action Paper.
Sri Lankan universities and other construction cost professional institutions must consider this seriously, as commencing such an important course of study for the first time in the world, shall put Sri Lanka on the higher education map.
Perhaps, the institution which commences the course of study may even be considered for a Nobel Prize, as with such a mechanism with trained construction professionals auditing government constructions, there is every possibility that at least 20% of the loss can be salvaged, which is in excess of US $ one Trillion per year, enough to wipe out poverty from the face of the earth.
A.L.M.Ameer