Unpleasant experience at Trincity traffic light

Recently a new career has emerged and has fast become quite popular in Trinidad.

It’s perhaps safe to say that “windshield wipers” now exist in most areas throughout Trinidad. My encounters with them have generally been brief, with me having to say that I’m not interested about three times before they accept defeat and walk away.

But not this guy. I am almost certain that others have had the unfortunate experience of interacting with the bully who is “stationed” near the traffic lights close to Trincity Mall. This individual uses intimidatory tactics to coerce drivers to utilise his service. The two encounters I have had with him so far have been quite unpleasant. The second, however, has left me so traumatised that I am considering using an alternate route out of concern for my safety.

The first incident involved him proceeding to wipe my windscreen, even after I gestured “No thanks” to him at least five times. He was openly upset with my refusal and made several racist comments (targeted at me), not caring whether I heard him or not. I politely refused to pay for the service, which I had not asked for when he approached me for compensation afterward.

In my second encounter, the same individual started to wipe my windshield after I had said “No,” no less than six times. I continued to gesture and say, “No.” This evidently angered him to the point where he banged my windscreen with the edge of his wiping tool with such force that I was surprised that the glass did not crack.

Additionally, the threatening glare which he gave me, suggested that he perhaps would have liked to strike more than just the windshield. I was both shocked and furious, but because I was more concerned for my safety, I did not react. Luckily, the light changed to green, enabling me to drive away.

No doubt, other drivers have had similar experiences and perhaps fearing confrontation may have yielded to this young man’s bullying tactics and patronised his services. I am, therefore, making a desperate plea to anyone in authority to do something about this individual, who clearly has aggressive and violent tendencies before he causes serious damage to person or property.

Marikah Persad

Arima