Cop: El Socorro tragedy could have been avoided

A senior police officer attached to the Police Traffic Branch yesterday said the accident on Tuesday in which Pradeep Lochan and his three-year-old son Cameron were killed on the Churchill/Roosevelt Highway could have been avoided. The driver of a van proceeding west along the highway swerved to avoid hitting a pedestrian who was crossing at El Socorro Extension and ended up on the median. The van then collided with a car driven by Lochan.

While some may blame the pedestrian, ASP Anthony Bernard said “had the driver exercised a little more caution or was driving at a moderate speed, that accident would not have occurred.” Bernard was among the panellists at the stakeholders meeting held at the United Nations Information Centre at Bretton Hall, to mark World Health Day. The theme is “Road Safety is no accident.” Bernard said in January the police embarked on several strategies to reduce the carnage on the nation’s roads. The Highways Patrol Branch was reestablished, a “zero tolerance” attitude was adopted for traffic violations, and the work of the Police Speed Control Unit intensified.

Bernard admitted that despite the zero tolerance stance this did not seem to be having an impact. He referred to the 56 deaths (including the father and son in Tuesday’s accident) from 46 accidents. The police is working “hand in hand” with the Licensing Department to implement measures. Bernard admitted that the police education programme is not as effective as it could be but said this will be addressed when primary and secondary schools reopen from the Easter vacation. He said the police will also be focusing on the 40-foot containers which drive at excessive speeds. “We cannot do it alone.  I am asking the general public to assist us.” The police are also concerned about young drivers because they are the chief offenders. Bernard said they are involved in drag racing.

For the Easter weekend, the police will intensify their work and he hoped the period will be accident-free. Another pannellist, Bernard Aquing, representing the Association of Insurance Companies, used the opportunity to give his personal views. “We are bloody lawless, we observe no rules,” he declared. He expressed the view that a dictatorial approach is needed to enforcing road rules. Aquing said leadership is needed with leaders implementing the right way. Referring to the heavy traffic of container trucks he said: “These containers should not be on the road from 8 to 4 pm, they should work at night.”