#BTColumn – Making our roads safe

Our hearts and prayers go out to the parents, siblings and wider family of six-year-old Dakari Edwin who was struck by a car on February 3, along President Kennedy Drive, St Michael. We pray for his speedy and complete recovery, and are heartened that he is sufficiently recovered to be discharged from the QEH. We are mindful that it is only the grace of God which prevented this accident from having an even more horrible outcome.

Our thoughts are also with the child’s friends, schoolmates and teachers of his school. We appreciate how they would have been impacted, especially if they were exposed to the widely circulated video of the accident.

Our nation is fortunate that we have the resources for counselling as provided by the Ministry of Education to the school family, and the child and his family as requested.

Now that it has been reported in the media that this child is on the road to recovery, perhaps we can also turn our minds to using this tragic accident as a national opportunity for all of us road users to improve our approach on our roads. A day last week I passed no less than five accidents, one involving three vehicles. It has been reported that many of these accidents are due to too many drivers driving without ‘due care and attention’, often due to negligence and preoccupation with mobile phones while driving.

We have a high density of cars per capita, and per square foot, often due to necessity, as our public transportation system is insufficient. Busfare is also expensive for parents who have several children to pay for, so their children walk to school. Although road repairs often include additions of pavements, often due to the competition for space in congested urban areas, our roads have insufficient space for the provision of pedestrian pavements, far less bicycle lanes. Driving in Barbados is too often an obstacle course for drivers to avoid pedestrians and cyclists and there have been some tragic deaths as a result.

Let all of us take this sad accident as an opportunity to have a national conversation and rethink our approach to our road usage. I certainly will.

As hard as it was to watch that video – and I opened it without realising its contents — it served as a graphic reminder of how easily and quickly these accidents can happen. It should be a wake-up call for all drivers to be more vigilant and to slow down, especially during school start and end times, and pedestrian crossings. If there isn’t a mandatory speed limit near schools, that should be enacted with alacrity, with the requisite funding for its enforcement.

Children need to be taught the basics of road safety, including facing oncoming traffic while walking as much as possible, which I have noticed for some time seems to be a dying practice for many pedestrians.

And, as difficult as it is sometimes to find the time with competing work commitments, we parents need to reconsider the ages we allow our children to be on these roads without mature supervision. There are so many cars now and often my heart is in my throat at the ages of the children I see walking the road. They are often difficult for drivers to see due to their size, and at that age, they can have an immature thought process.

We have too many road accidents as it is, but at least a vehicle provides some protection to its occupants. Pedestrians have no protection; children are at the most risk of a collision.

Perhaps a programme of government public service announcements, school and community talks and encouragement of enhanced parental guidance in homes, all with an objective to improve road safety for all, but especially our child pedestrians, can be coordinated.

Consideration could be given to a road safety competition for our students, to encourage their interest and buy-in.

We regret the physical and emotional trauma this child, his parents and siblings, and all who care for him, went through as a result of this accident. However, if this painful incident can be actioned as an opportunity for improved national safety, perhaps that will bring some comfort to this child and his family.

Paula-Anne Moore is the spokesperson and coordinator of the Group of Concerned Parents of Barbados Caribbean Coalition for Exam Redress.