Road traffic officials on Tuesday disclosed plans to help lower the country’s recent traffic fatality statistics, focusing in particular on the education, enforcement and engineering limbs of the ongoing national road safety campaign.
Recounting that in 2005 67 persons lost their lives in traffic-related mishaps, and already this year 16 traffic fatalities have been recorded in the country, road traffic controller Jack Thompson noted the substantial cost of such incidents.
“While in some instances cost is measured in dollars and cents, oftentimes one cannot place a dollar cost on lives that are lost,” Mr. Thompson said during a press conference held at the Ministry of Transport and Aviationﾒs head office in the Pilot House on East Bay Street.
“If we average a funeral to cost $3,000 and multiply that by 67 fatalities that comes out to something like ($201,000). I have not yet addressed those persons who are in hospital.”
Mr. Thompson, who also serves as Chairman of the National Road Safety Committee, pointed out that in addition to the direct economic costs associated with funerals, serious traffic accidents often result in large medical bills, lost productivity and emotional trauma.
So far this year, eight persons died on the streets of New Providence as a result of traffic accidents, five on Grand Bahama, and one each on Abaco, Andros and Eleuthera.
According to statistics from the Department of Road Traffic, six of the victims were passengers, four drivers, three pedestrians and one was a motorcyclist.
Also speaking at the news conference, emergency medicine consultant at Princess Margaret Hospital Dr. Sarah Friday urged motorists to utilise all possible safety measures when travelling on the nationﾒs roadways.
She pointed out that in addition to there being a legal requirement to do so, persons should wear a seatbelt in order to help ensure their personal safety.
“Wearing the seatbelt prevents the secondary injury,” she said.
“So it prevents the injuries to the body, the facial area as a result of colliding into the windscreen and chest trauma.
“These things can cause ongoing pain for several days although they may just be minor injuries. Also when you come into the emergency department with an injury like that it leads to a lot of investigations, a lot of time in the emergency room investigating to be sure that the impact on the chest did not cause any internal damage.”
She also warned that children who are not secured in vehicles are at special risk because they act as projectiles when a car is involved in a collision, creating the possibility of injury to themselves and other occupants of the vehicle.
In his address, police Sergeant David Lockhart said a number of members of the public have expressed concern to police officials regarding various traffic infractions committed by motorists.
According to Sergeant Lockhart, a chief complaint involved motorists using the lanes improperly in the areas of the East West Highway and Independence Drive.
“We held operations where on any given day we reported 50 persons in the space of an hour-and-a-half,” he said.
“This is a big concern to residents especially in the Ridgeland Park area because there is a school there and on a daily basis the school childrenﾒs lives are being placed in danger by the recklessness and lawlessness of the motoring public.”
According to Mr. Lockhart, a number of members of the public have complained to the police about motorists committing various traffic infractions in the downtown area, including parking in areas not designated for parking and improperly using parking areas designated for disabled persons.
He said in recent times, traffic officials towed 20 vehicles and reported 30 persons for committing such offences.
Michael Hudson, coordinator of the national road safety programme, said since the Committee initiated its campaign of taking the road safety message to primary schools in February, it has visited 20 public and private primary schools.
“Very shortly you will be hearing about our youth symposium,” he said.
“This will be our second national youth symposium and will comprise our senior schools so we will also be bringing the road safety message into the senior schools, which will be held in October of this year.”
Also in October, the National Road Safety Committee in conjunction with the Ministry of Health will hold its national health fair, at which time it will check the general public for health issues.
By: Darrin Culmer, The Bahama Journal
