Sri Lanka, April 19 -- Non-rectification of road engineering defects is a main cause of road accidents in Sri Lanka, a performance audit report by the Auditor General indicated.

The Auditor General's report on "Functions performed by Government entities on road safety in Sri Lanka" identifies a series of road engineering defects that have resulted in an increase of road accidents.

Analyzing information obtained from islandwide Police Divisions, the report said having pedestrian crossings too close to the bus stands and intersections, not clearly indicating the pedestrian crossing signs (some of them had erased over time), having electricity and telephone posts obstructing the road and not properly illuminating the roads (inoperative str...