Stringent laws to prevent road accidents

THE EDITOR: The current talking point is the number of tragic deaths due to road accidents. It is sad to say that some of these might have been avoided by what my pragmatic good friend Martin Kavanagh calls “simple common sense.” Not only these, but unfortunate deaths in other areas too, are all too common and all too predictable. Road accidents at Christmas and Carnival, drownings at Easter, and a steady stream of deaths by fire, electrocution, tractor rollovers, out of control trucks, arguments over minor matters, suicide, and so on could all be greatly reduced by the application of simple common sense and proper training.

I have written before that much of this has to start early in school, where students must be taught road safety, basic first aid, basic fire fighting, basic household electricity, conflict resolution, and basic interpersonal skills. Of course, other “citizen skills” should also be taught such as “everyday money handling,” basic Government structure, and citizens rights and responsibilities. The “three Rs,” basic reading, ‘riting and ‘rithmetic go without saying. In other words even those who are not academically inclined should come out of school knowing basic living skills in preparation for the challenges of life, where to go, and who to ask for help and information. There is no substitute for good training. Start with the kids, and once convinced they will nag their parents. For example, seat belts, drink and drive, and speeding are all areas where from personal observation, once kids understand and believe, they will nag adults. Every big helps.
Back to my pet peeve, transportation:

Inrastructure
Whatever the initial cause of accidents, the consequences are often much greater than they need be. The reason for this is that our roads have developed haphazardly over the years, and many design errors have made the consequences of what should only have been a “fender bender,” into a fatal accident. Those who have carefully observed roads abroad will know what I am talking about. Roads are designed so that the edges have impact free zones and any potential impact points are protected, either by impact absorbing safety rails, or in the case of columns, etc specially designed buffers and absorbers.

Median dividers prevent “oncoming traffic impacts,” and unprotected median areas are designed to keep errant vehicles from crossing over to the oncoming side. (The Uriah and Churchill both have areas where a vehicle that runs off will be pulled down a grassy incline with little hope of regaining control, and then launched up into oncoming traffic). Hazardous kerbs in poorly lit areas, poor or absent road markings, lampposts, traffic lights, trees and a myriad of other potentially lethal objects in critical areas all need to be looked at if we truly value human lives. It is well known that traffic that is stopping, accelerating, or turning is far more likely to generate serious accidents than steady flow traffic. As traffic density increases, this effect is magnified. Every effort should be made to ensure steady flow traffic on all arterial roads.

Enforcement
For whatever reason, there is a perception by the driving public that you can do almost anything illegal, and the chances of being caught and prosecuted are slim to zero. As long as this persists there will be uncontrolled speeding, reckless driving, racing on the highways, illegal overtaking, illegal turning, obstruction, red light running, and general mayhem. It would seem that there are far too few policemen actually on the roads enforcing the laws. I do not know the reason(s) for this, but offer a suggestion that might put more roadworthy patrol cars in service. In the USA, some patrol cars are assigned to individual officers, and they take care of them, and keep them at home. This has a double benefit. Someone “owns” the car and has a vested interest in keeping it working well, and marked police cars are spread throughout the country, and criminals know they may be or may not be in use at any given moment. Before we all jump up and say “too expensive,” “it will be abused,” etc, etc let us put some measures in place that make it a win/win situation.

I am assuming a minimum cost route using RO/RO vehicles, but if the economics can allow new vehicles, so much the better. Use simple, cheap, reliable roll on/roll off vehicles, imported by a government department and individually assigned to each officer. There will be some rules as part of the agreement such as, but not limited to: The vehicles will be painted in police colours and equipped with reliable radios; the officers will be required to keep the radios on whilst the vehicles are in use; the officers will be expected to keep the vehicles at home when off duty, and may use the vehicles for their personal private use when off duty, but must be prepared to help in the event of an emergency, of course considering the possibility of civilians on board at the time. Transponder locators will be installed in all vehicles (like in taxis and delivery trucks in the UK and USA) to keep track of the vehicles and ensure best use of the resources available and any other general rules of use deemed fit. At the end of say two  (three?) years use, the officer is permitted to buy the vehicle at a win win price and the police markings and equipment will be removed. Any officer caught abusing the arrangement will be hung, drawn, and quartered in Woodford square, public invited. (Only halfway joking here.)

In the final analysis the Government has to decide what value it puts on human life and law and order, and commit a commensurate amount of money and effort to dealing with the problems. Money alone will not do it. Effort alone will not do it. It must be both. In closing, I like the noises Minister Franklyn Khan is making about an overall transportation plan, and I hope he is serious and committed long-term and that he gets going now. There are many out there, both organisations and individuals, who could and probably would contribute to the effort if it is a reality. If we are serious about vision 2020, transportation and communication are absolutely vital to its success. Season’s greetings to all, let us hope we make real progress in road safety, transportation and crime in 2004.

SIMON KELSHALL
Diego Martin