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Being more careful on our roads

Feb 06, 2014 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,
Recently, I asked one of my friends something pertaining to traffic, and he invited me to a conference that they are supposed to have in March, where I could submit a few ideas to help make the road a better place. I agreed to attend.
After recently reading about an accident in which a seven-year-old lost her life, I decided to pen this letter expressing my disgust about these unwanted deaths that are occurring by accidents. Before reading the report, people would jump to the conclusion that it’s the driver’s fault, but lots would be said about drivers and in most cases they might be right.
I have three children and the eldest being a seven-year-old girl also, and we (my wife and I) try our best to avoid having her and her siblings on the public road, but some things can’t be avoided. Her school is in a village far away and we would take her to the school and pick her up, but in some cases her aunt would drop her off whilst passing our home and we ensure one of us is there before she reaches, so that she wouldn’t have to cross the road alone.
Lots of minibus operators are always late and they cannot spend an extra minute to see a child across the road or inquire if he/she has to cross the road and assist them. We always reminded our daughter not to cross the road alone or play on it if we couldn’t make it, or ask someone to cross her. Why a seven-year-old girl is on the public road by herself is a question that should be asked!
As a small boy growing up, I was always advised not to talk to strangers and to date, lots of parents are still practicing that, because they are not advising them properly. It is dangerous. Many times I would see small children on the road attempting to cross it, some would answer and allow me to cross/guide them over and some of them would simply look at me then look away, and make me feel stupid for asking.
Why aren’t parents advising their children to wait until someone comes, and ask for assistance in crossing a public road? It is high time we stop with that way of thinking; if you are training your children not to talk to strangers, don’t make them be where their life is at risk by themselves!
There are an abundance of pedestrian crossings and many children don’t use them. Their parents are not training them to use them. In some cases, motorists always seem to be in a hurry; they are not aware that a pedestrian crossing exists at a certain point, and there is no sign informing them of its presence.
It is no secret that a number of drivers “buy” their licence, and they could hardly read, so reading the road signs might be a hard thing for them. Minibus and taxi operators seem to be later than anyone else and they hardly pay attention to road signs. Their errant attitudes cause many accidents and lack of evidence makes them escape justice.
There are lots of cases where vehicles are parked on the road and when someone wants to cross, they both go behind or in front of the parked vehicle and rush to cross, when they or an approaching driver cannot see until it’s too late. Why can’t they just wait until the vehicle moves or move a little distance away from the vehicle where they could clearly see both directions and cross?
I will be penning a few more observations that could make road users more careful and avoid unnecessary deaths.
Sahadeo Bates

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