Police are aware of drag racing

THE EDITOR: Every week, drag racing takes place at the Cross-Crossing traffic lights. They begin gathering from 10 pm and remain there until 2 am. The police are fully aware of this activity, but there is no attempt to stop it. On many occasions, I have called the San Fernando Police Station with little or no effect. Sending one police vehicle to deal with thousands is a joke. On one occasion, I observed the jeep parked in the middle of the intersection and the spectators all stood and watched, waiting for the police to leave. I must admit, the nights that I called were the nights that I was on-call. It was frightening to drive through the area. Choice words would have been used if an accident did happen and I was called out at 1 am to administer treatment. At present, we are experiencing a “crime wave.” Some folks are demanding a ‘state of emergency’ and some are demanding a ‘curfew.’ And others, including children, are on the streets at 1 am to watch illegal street drag racing.

So, an accident finally happened. It would have happened one day. And including among the injured are teenagers with ages 13, 14, and 16. And as young as nine and ten year old. The lame excuse was that they were at the gas station, buying gas at 1 am. What were these young children doing outside at this hour of the morning? Will the parents be called upon to give an account? Will MP Chandresh Sharma, as a responsible parent, provide a reasonable explanation? Will the other parents do the same? Will the police stop this illegal and dangerous activity? Why not block all of the access roads and search all vehicles? Demand registration papers for all vehicles within the area? Isn’t loitering a crime? How about releasing the air out of all four tyres of every vehicle within the area, whilst at the same time, the nearby gas stations must disable their compressor? Who are the organisers of these events? Are these cars legally registered and legally constructed? But seriously, “Zero Tolerance” means “Zero Tolerance.”

PHILIP AYOUNG-CHEE FRCS
Port-of-Spain