Accidents happen every day. And by the mere definition of the word we are well aware that these incidents are “unexpected” and “unintentional”. To imply intent is unwarranted. However, in many instances we can proportion blame especially when the law is disregarded.
We must ask ourselves individually and collectively are we as vigilant when traversing the roads as we should be? Are we being reckless and breaking the law while driving? Are we paying more attention to our cell phones or other distractions as we manoeuvre? Are we humane with our approach to driving as it relates to pedestrians, cyclists or bikers?
On Wednesday, 64-year-old George Broomes of Bromefield, St Lucy died after an accident involving him – a pedestrian and a motor vehicle. The accident, which occurred around 6:25 a.m. along Bromefield Main Road, St Lucy, was the 10th road death for the year.
Weeks ago on Mother’s Day in the same St Lucy, cyclist Junior Scott, 58, of Lot 1B, Quarry Road, St Thomas died following a collision with a car. That accident occurred around 8:45 along Coles Cave Road in the vicinity of the Grape Hall Seventh Day Adventist Church.
The worst of these vehicular accidents are the rising number of hit-and-runs. Sadly, these particular accidents connote a blatant disrespect and disregard for human life. Not only is life loss, but the perpetrator leaves the victim lying helplessly in the road akin to roadkill.
During National Heroes’ Day weekend, Anderson Graham, 56, of Long Bay Village Road, St Philip, was found on the road about 40 metres from the Salvation Army Long Bay Corps in an apparent hit-and-run crash around 1:50 a.m. on the Saturday.
The following Monday a Christ Church pensioner was knocked down and left to die. Ainsley Roosevelt Bradshaw, 74, of Kings Court, Lodge Road was killed in a hit-and-run that occurred around 9:15 p.m. as he walked the main road.
How do the guilty parties sleep at night and continue to function knowing that a life has been taken and a family thrown into shock and mourning? In some cases, these people are the breadwinners or the ones who pull the family together.
At the scene in Christ Church, Communications and Public Affairs Officer of the Barbados Police Service Inspector Rodney Inniss said: “It is cruel. It is a real immoral thing. It is wrong, it is illegal, [there] is nothing good about it.”
The inspector is correct.
President of the Barbados Road Safety Association Roland Lowe reminded the guilty parties of common human decency.
“You have to take into consideration that something like that can happen to a family member of yours, it can happen to you…. You don’t want a situation where you were in an accident, you struck somebody on the road, but then you drive off without seeing if that person is injured, [or] if they need help. That is another human being. You need to come forward and let there be some closure in relation to the matter. Do the right thing,” Lowe told Barbados TODAY.
The fact of the matter is we cannot manoeuvre across the country acting as though we are the only ones using the roads. Due care and attention must be paid in order to preserve life and limb.
We remember when there was a national goal to ensure there was a car to every household in Barbados. However, we have surpassed that. We now have two and three vehicles per household.
Authorities have reported that approximately 150 000 vehicles traverse the islands’ roads. Police have also said there were 7 400 accidents registered last year. Recurring accidents per month are just too much for such a small country. And while fatalities are our focus today, the rising number of accidents on a whole are cause for concern.
Renewed focus should be placed on public education to promote safe driving practices. Lowe stressed the importance of preventative measures.
The Road Safety group also voiced concern about ensuring road safety and compliance from drivers, especially in light of the upcoming ICC T20 Men’s World Cup, which is days away. and Crop Over celebrations.
President Lowe said: “What I would like to see would be members of the Social Partnership and businesses coming forward so that we can make a concerted effort to get more messaging out there and to do more to make persons on the road aware of the dangers. If it’s a problem for Barbadians who are on the road regularly, then for sure when we have an abundance of visitors entering the country, the things that cause some confusion to us as regular road users would obviously cause confusion to them.”
We end by endorsing and fully supporting Lowe’s position: “Road safety is not just the business of the road safety association, it’s the business of all persons who use the roads on the island.”
