SLOW DOWN OR LET ME OUT

We offer no apology for returning to the high incidence of fatal vehicular accidents in Trinidad and Tobago a mere week following on our December 7 Editorial in which we called on the police to institute increased mobile patrols to stem the rising rate of these accidents. There has been hardly any visible evidence that the Police have responded either to the horrific number of fatal and other road accidents or to our public service call which was triggered not merely by the accidents but by the speeding, dangerous driving and the number of defective vehicles on the country’s roadways. Admittedly, the Police have not been entirely inactive, nonetheless the response has been severely limited.

What is needed to cut down on the speeding and dangerous driving is both a clearly visible Police presence as well as action that is seen to be taken, and, additionally, action by passengers and concerned drivers. Merely for the Police to boast of wrecking some 70 cars a day in downtown Port-of-Spain even as people are being killed in road accidents, maimed, severely injured or traumatised and so seek to convey the impression that something major is being done is absurdly cynical. While, we accept the importance of dealing with all forms of traffic offences, no matter how small, we note with concern that as of last weekend 179 persons had been killed in road accidents.

Two of them were killed over the weekend and a young, promising soca singer, Onika Bostic, lies “brain dead” at the Intensive Care Unit of the Port-of-Spain General Hospital following an accident on the Eastern Main Road, Laventille early Saturday morning. But even as we call on the Traffic Police to arouse themselves from an apparent slumber and effectively patrol the country’s highways, main and secondary roads, we ask drivers of private cars to leave home or office earlier than usual if they wish to be on time for appointments. In turn, we ask passengers in cars being operated above the speed limit or being driven too fast for the traffic and/or condition of the road to request of the drivers of their vehicles that they slow down.

The lives they save may be their own. There is a third uncomfortable group comprising passengers who leave home late, either through having overslept or dilly-dallying, and as a result encourage taxi drivers to speed to make up for the time lost and so enable them to reach their destinations early. Many of this group include schoolchildren who conveniently ignore the simple truth that being late for an appointment or for school is no excuse to endanger the lives of other users of the road. And that this can be avoided by stirring just a litte bit earlier.

Additionally, because of the extremely large number of vehicles registered in Trinidad and Tobago today, approximately one vehicle for every four persons residing in the country, then until a system of mass transit is put into effect, for example a mini rail service, or voluntary car pools, then traffic jams, particularly at peak periods, will continue. Meanwhile, the average private car owner/driver or passenger can contribute to a reduction in the road accident and death toll by leaving home earlier, and specifically passengers by urging drivers to slow down and not break the law. The passenger in the conventional taxi or maxi taxi, should the driver insist on speeding or driving dangerously still has the weapon of patronage. He can tell the driver, who is reluctant to respond, to let him out of his vehicle. Something must be done and early.