President of the BRSA, Sharmane Roland-Bowen.
The Barbados Road Safety Association (BRSA) is urging Barbadians to come out in their numbers this Sunday and participate in the service to mark the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims.
The appeal is coming from the President of the BRSA, Sharmane Roland-Bowen, who said the service is scheduled for the St. Mary’s Anglican Church at 8:45 a.m. Speaking to The Barbados Advocate yesterday morning, she noted that November is designated Road Safety Awareness Month, and the service is one of the activities the BRSA is utilising to bring attention to the importance of road safety and reducing the number of fatal accidents occurring on our nation’s roads.
Her comments came as she said it is also in keeping with the United Nations designated Decade of Action for Road Safety, which comes to an end next year.
“This significant day also acknowledges and remembers persons who share in, and are affected by the aftermath of traffic crashes such as first responders - the hardworking men and women of the Royal Barbados Police Force, the Barbados Fire Service, as well as those providing emergency medical services, including paramedics, doctors and nurses, who get to see some of the trauma that these accidents can cause,” she stated.
She said in keeping with tradition, they will have on display the ‘Wall of Remembrance’, which she explained bears the name of all those persons who died on our roads between 2000 and the present.
“That is 19 years of accumulated road deaths that we have on this board. What we do, we allow persons to read the board… and if they have any family members that they see their names or friends, we give them a little yellow ribbon to pin on to the board next to that name in remembrance of that person,” the road safety advocate said.
She added, “Let us come out and remember… let them know that they are not forgotten and in doing so, see if we can help others from losing their loved ones. Bring together an awareness to help others to be more cautious as they use the road, so as to reduce the number of accidents and fatalities we are having on our roads”.
The BRSA president’s comments came as she noted that last year some 26 persons lost their lives in road traffic accidents, almost three times as many as 2017. She made the point while noting that to date Barbados has recorded nine fatalities this year, and she is hoping that with just about six weeks left in the year that the figure does not increase.
“We give condolences to those families who would be for the first time having to face Christmas without that loved one in their midst. We hope that as the year continues, we still have a month and a half left, that no more will be added to that Wall of Remembrance; no more families would have to grieve for this year, for a loved one that has lost their lives on our roads,” she indicated. (JRT)