As 2016 quickly comes to a close, Barbadians are being urged to exercise caution and stay safe on the nation’s highways and byways.
President of the Barbados Road Safety Association (BRSA), Sharmane Roland-Bowen, issued the call as she said that the Association does not want to see anymore road fatalities recorded this year, especially given that the country has recorded its lowest number of road deaths in decades. At present, Roland-Bowen noted in an interview with The Barbados Advocate that the figure stands at nine, and if the country can keep this up, it will be well on
its way to reducing and stabilising road fatalities to fewer than 20 per year by the end of the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety, which ends in 2020. Her comments came as she explained that between 2009 and 2015 Barbados recorded 150 road fatalities, just over 20 deaths per year.
“I want persons to really be aware and alert to the dangers, especially at this time. So far for the year there have been nine fatalities, our ultimate goal is to have road fatalities at zero, but we cannot turn back the clock now. However, we can all work to ensure that we do not have anymore road deaths in 2016, and if we can achieve that, what a record it would be,” she said.
As such, she is urging persons to take note of the five main causes of fatal road traffic collisions – alcohol and driving, speeding, not wearing seatbelts, fatigue and driving while distracted – and not to become one of the fatal five statistics.
To that end, she is advising persons as they attend events on Old Year’s Night and over the New Year’s weekend, that if they are going to consume alcohol, not to get behind the wheel of any vehicle.
“As little as one drink can impair you, because alcohol affects every person differently. So if you are going to be driving, abstain from drinking; get a designated driver and ensure that that he or she has no amount of alcohol in their system.
“We also know that persons are going to be busy this weekend, and having come out of several weeks of long hours at work and a long Christmas weekend, if they have to get on the road, we don’t want them to do so tired and then getting involved in any collisions. The fact is that there are no warning signs of driver fatigue... you might be feeling up and about and 10, 15 minutes into that journey, sleep can set in,” she warned.
The road safety advocate is also calling on Barbadians and visitors alike to slow down on the roads. Adamant that speed is a major killer, she is calling on all persons to drive within the speed limit, and leave home early for their journeys so that they do not feel compelled to rush to get there on time.
“Persons need also to keep their following distances, not to drive and use their cellphones, and remember to buckle up. Since the seatbelt law, we have not updated our legislation and are desperately in need of changes to address road safety.
“So as 2017 approaches, I want to call on the Minister of Transport and Works to really push this cause, because there are lives at stake,” the BRSA President stated.
With that in mind, Roland-Bowen again took the opportunity to call on Government to put the legislative amendments in place relative to breathalyser testing and distracted driving as soon as possible. (JRT)
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