Road deaths down

As of October 31, there have been eight road fatalities for 2016.ASP (Ag) of the Royal Barbados Police Force, Ronald Stanford, says this is quite a significant drop when compared to the 20 recorded for the same period last year.

 

He made this disclosure during the launch of the Barbados Road Safety Association (BRSA) “Crash Free Friday” and activities for Road Safety Awareness Month, held yesterday at Alpha 126 Traffic School, Rendezvous Court, Christ Church.

 

“Persons have been heeding what the Road Safety Association has been saying and doing, as well as the daily messages coming from the Royal Barbados Police Force…I will like to thank the members of the public for their support; for improving their driving to the point where we can have this significant reduction in road fatalities, and I hope that it will continue for the rest of the year.”

 

However, ASP Stanford acknowledged that the country is entering a busy period as it celebrates 50 years of Independence, and in light of this an influx of visitors to the island is expected.

 

“Most likely [there will be] more road users and sometimes persons who might not be aware of the terrain in which they are going to be moving around in. Therefore, I want to encourage all road users to be vigilant… Every time you get into that vehicle, think safety,” he stressed.

 

ASP Stanford also indicated that most accidents take place either at an intersection or at bends.

 

Noting that there could be a number of reasons for this, he stated, “If you don’t follow the curvature of a bend, it’s obvious you are going to end up – depending on the type of bend it is – on the other side of the road… depending on whether it is a right or left hand bend. The thing is what causes it, and basically speaking, you go off course if you are distracted for one reason or the other. When you get behind the wheel your focus should be on the road, instead of paying attention to things outside of that scope.”

 

“As it relates to intersections, if there is a problem with an intersection the Road Safety Association tries to work the Ministry of Transport and Work to make sure that intersections are safe. But, generally speaking, I find that persons approach intersections too quickly as though they don’t have to stop, and very often they over-shoot junctions and enter the path of vehicles.

 

"Additionally, some drivers can’t judge the speed or the distance of an on-coming vehicle and it is really detrimental especially to motorcyclists. Please when you see a motorcyclist coming, give him or her that space because they are travelling quicker than you actually think.”

 

President of the BRSA, Sharmane Roland-Bowen, added that one of the reasons that collisions occur at an intersection is because it is an “area of conflict.”

 

“Drivers don’t let other drivers know what they are doing. You have to guessing because persons are not using their indicators. We must use them to let other road users know what we intend to do,” she stressed. (TL)