EDITORIAL: Give some attention to road safety
A CALL has been made for the new Barbados Labour Party government to give some attention to the issue of road safety, even as they map out the way ahead for this country. Indeed, over the last few weeks we have heard of numerous fatalities on local roads and this does not augur well for us as a country.
The Barbados Road Safety Association (BRSA) has been up front, urging the new government to prioritise the matter of road safety. President of the BRSA, Sharmane Roland-Bowen, has been quoted as saying that her Association is willing to assist the new government in its efforts to keep all road users safe. According to this newspaper, her comments came against the backdrop of six road deaths last week, which brought the total for the year to 15.
“While the majority of Barbadians are celebrating victory, six families are experiencing grief from mourning the loss of their loved ones through accidents that could have been avoided. The welcoming mat for the new BLP government is not good; it is welcoming them to the stark reality of what is existing out there on our roads – too many lives being lost,” Roland-Bowen contended.
“This is only the fifth month of the year and already we have lost more than half the lives which were cut short last year and we have not even entered the Crop Over season yet, which is a time of the year where persons utilise the roads more frequently,” she added.
Pointing out that the legislation to deal with road safety is already in place, with the passage of the Road Safety (Amendment) Act by the previous government last November, the road safety advocate has further made a call for this new government to enforce the provisions of that law, in particular, the section which speaks to drink driving and breathalyser testing.
Indeed, that segment is long overdue. Barbadians have heard time and time again that they need to adopt the concept of having a designated driver, if they know they will be consuming alcohol at various events, so they can ensure that they have a safe ride home. This would indeed ensure that road fatalities and accidents are reduced, on account of driving under the influence. However, it would appear that in many instances, Barbadians are ignoring this critical piece of advice, taking too many chances on our roads.
What we need to heed as well, is the call for a traffic school to be established in Barbados. Along with a call for more effective educational campaigns about road safety, some road safety advocates have been pushing for defensive driving classes for those who infringe traffic laws, as well as a re-sit of the driving test, required to gain one’s driver’s licence. It has been noted that those who cause serious accidents on local roads and those who are caught speeding, should be made to attend this special traffic school, where they can revisit the defensive driving rules.
Some road safety advocates have made the argument that when people are charged with “driving without due care and attention”, they often just get a slap on the wrist, but the police should have the option to send these people back to traffic school. It has been suggested that by employing such an approach of selecting persons to attend the traffic school, could aid in cutting down some of the recklessness on the road, while possibly adding to Government’s coffers. Perhaps this is something the Ministry of Transport, Works and Maintenance could give some serious consideration to.