People die needlessly on our roads

The Editor: Innocent people die needlessly in Trinidad and Tobago, and all too often because of the indiscretion of others, be it through a single action or a chain of events. Pictures of mangled bodies lying in pools of blood remind us that just as the unfortunate victims of Monday’s horrific accident, it could have easily been you or me. 

According to newspapers reports, a truck was being driven in an easterly direction on the Churchhill Roosevelt Highway. As the traffic lights at the Mausica intersection changed from green to red, a car in front of the truck stopped. The driver of the truck had to suddenly apply brakes, but lost control. The truck jumped the median and overturned on a car travelling on the opposite carriageway. In the end, five people lost their lives. The reports indicate two very common but deadly driving habits.  Firstly, the car driving in front of the truck may have been travelling at excess speed when the lights were about to change, the driver making a last second decision not to break the red light, thus having to rapidly stop. The second being that the truck was driven too close to the vehicle in front of it, as well as with excess speed, which prevented safe handling and control.

It is remarkably similar to an accident that took place nearly two years to the day, when six people died at the Kay Donna Intersection, after a truck collided with a taxi. The lights at the intersection were not operating due to an electrical blackout, with the taxi driver trying to make a break for it, and the truck driver not using due caution given the circumstances.  But ghastly stories of trucks out of control and killing people are not uncommon in Trinidad and Tobago. A major road accident involving a truck is a biennial occurrence. Three people died in 1999 when a truck lost control on St James Street, San Fernando. Others were permanently injured. Then there are the near misses on several occasions where trucks lose control, running off the road and into houses. The frequency of these accidents could be a symptom of a larger problem. Safety checks on trucks and cars, done via vehicle inspections are insufficient. Also, driver training may be inadequate for both passenger cars and trucks. Though in Europe advanced tests (written and practical) need to be passed in order to drive a truck, in Trinidad, this is not the case.

Already for this year 73 people have died in vehicular accidents, and given the festive holidays to come, this figure may double.  Statistics can be obtained from the Traffic Branch of the Police. When compared to developed nations, the trends are not suprising.  In the UK, one in 16,500 people will die in a vehicular accident.  In Canada it is one in 10,000 and in Trinidad 1 in 6,000. This despite a lower “motorisation” (number of cars per person) in Trinidad and Tobago. Driver error and vehicle worthiness are not the only factors that contribute to the killing fields that our roads have become.  Safety has not been designed into the highways. On the Churchill Roosevelt Highway, where higher speeds are often the case, traffic lights are switched from green to red in the same time interval as in the city. A staggered change may be safer. Lighting and road signs need upgrading, and the list goes on. Today there are more cars using an inadequate road infrastructure, and traffic laws hardly enforced. Unfortunately, successive governments have not done enough to improve road safety. But it is ultimately our duty to maintain our vehicles so that they are road worthy. Most importantly driving responsibly, and observing the highway code will lessen, if not eliminate further accidents, of the type we saw on Monday.

Wayne Jaggernauth
Loughborough University
Leicestershire UK