AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION...

Drivers heading for the beach today and tomorrow or simply going on a lime should be guided by three things. They should not drink and drive. They should not rely on Police mobile patrols to be on the country’s roads to pull them off for speeding and dangerous driving, nor for lifeguards to come to their rescue in case they refuse to heed warning flags at the nation’s beaches. The lifeguards may be withholding their labour and far from the beaches.

While we are not certain that regular lifeguards, who have been absenting themselves from beach duty for the past several weekends will have a change of heart, persons on a beach lime should nonetheless exercise caution. If they have been drinking they should refrain from going for seabaths, and even if they have abstained or are normally non drinkers but are not good swimmers they should, nonetheless, steer clear of such beaches as Maracas, Manzanilla and Mayaro along with several others. In turn, the virtual absence of mobile patrols from highways, main and secondary roads and the frighteningly high level of road accidents, many of them fatal, because of the glaring lack of a Police presence, may make driving particularly dangerous today and tomorrow. In turn, if drivers are drinking they should not drive and instead, should they be moving out in a group with others, invite non drinkers in the party with valid driving permits to take over the wheel.

These persons, referred to as designated drivers in North America, can represent the difference between their vehicles “going out of control and running off the roads” and the members of the lime being able to enjoy the whole of the Christmas season and several more to come. Over the years we have referred, repeatedly, to drivers who believe, mistakenly, that they operate the wheels of their vehicles better should they have several glasses of alcohol under the belt. The unfortunate thing is that they are a clear danger not only to themselves and others in their party, but to other users of the road, including innocent bystanders. The accent, then, should be on prevention rather than on cure or as the saying goes, being wise after the event. Regrettably, in all too many cases death removes the option of delayed wisdom.

We have been critical, particularly in the recent past, of the pronounced absence of Traffic or Mobile Police from the country’s principal arteries. It has become more noticeable within recent weeks with the spiralling number of road deaths. Meanwhile, the introduction of helicopter patrols whatever their usefulness otherwise, can, through having information relayed on speeding, dangerous driving and reckless overtaking, make a dent in the fatal accident rate. We do not expect to have a Police officer at every highway junction or street corner, but certainly mechanisms can be put in place by which reckless drivers can be pinpointed and hauled off the road. In addition, the technology is there through which such drivers can be readily identified and dealt with. The prompt dealing with of a motorist who is speeding or otherwise driving dangerously can have a desired effect on other drivers. And this, in the same way that the absence of Police mobile patrols from main thoroughfares encourages, however unintentionally, unthinking drivers to speed. This speeding has a domino effect on others and soon almost everyone is caught up in what can become for some a dance of death.

We repeat. Do not drink and drive for the extended weekend or at any other time. Instead have designated drivers with valid drivers’ permits if you plan on partying. In addition, steer clear of the nation’s beaches should you intend to drink alcohol and/or cannot swim. There may not be lifeguards at all, or at least in sufficient numbers to rescue you and others who insist on taking chances with alcohol and sea water. Not bringing needless suffering to your families and friends is well worth the ounce of prevention. Enjoy the rest of the holiday season.