EDITORIAL: Make road safety a priority

Of late, it seems to be the season for vehicular accidents and sadly, we are seeing too many fatalities.

Thus, given the heavy volume of traffic on our roads and the desire to keep accidents at a minimum, there is a need to keep road safety messages current, fresh and in the forefront of the minds of Barbadians at all times.

It appears that we at times only speak to the matter of road safety with great gusto when there is a serious accident. However, any effort to make our roads safer for road users is a plus, and therefore, road safety messages must become a constant as too many of our citizens are dying on our roads.

Now we are well aware that road crashes can cause enormous grief to victims, their families and friends and it has been noted that fatal crashes can also lead to financial distress for households that lose their main breadwinners.

If we can therefore reduce the number of fatal crashes occurring, by making our roads safer, then we can save numerous families from having to go through a taxing grief process and we can certainly keep more of our productive citizens.

By having safer roads, we also cut down on the number of persons being injured on the road. This point is often overlooked. However, we should be aware that numerous persons do not die as a result of terrible vehicular accidents, but they are nevertheless left with severe injuries that they have to nurse, sometimes on a long-term basis, and some persons even become disabled as a result of these road accidents.

We certainly have a lot of automobiles on our roads which contributes to congestion, and we do need better traffic management strategies to ease some of the gridlock. So perhaps the relevant authorities can also seek ways in which to reduce congestion on our roads and ensure that any complaints about roadways made by motorists are addressed quickly, as we know there are certain hot spots where accidents.

That said, the onus however remains on motorists and road users on a whole to ensure that they traverse our roads in a responsible manner. Too many drivers engage in reckless acts of speeding and overtaking. Too many motorcyclists and bicyclists take chances on our roads. Too many pedestrians misuse the crossings. All this has to stop if we truly wish to see a reduction in accidents on a whole on our roads and if we truly want to be serious about pushing the concept of road safety.

We all know the damage distracted driving can cause as well. While great focus has been placed on the use of mobile phones whilst driving and the use and abuse of alcohol, we can be sure that a fair share of accidents may have been caused due to the driver having a distracted mind. So let us work together at reducing road accidents as we go forward. Remember, road safety is always paramount.