Please slow down

Whenever I am driving on the Tobago highway, I feel the impatience of the vehicle behind me. The engine revs and the agitated driver (99.9 per cent of the time it is a man) swerves his "machine" to overtake. With dramatic acceleration, he roars past...only to end up right in front of my vehicle in traffic or at a red light.

Some time ago a flat bed truck carrying a table overtook me on the highway. Such was the speed that, just after passing, the table flew off the tray, fell and tumbled across to the other side of the narrow highway (thank God no other car was there at that moment) and broke into pieces. Unaware of the loss of that large item, the truck continued rocketing forth, disappearing out of sight.

Once, while driving along Shirvan Road, I extended my arm (signalling slowing down) and stopped to let an iguana cross. The impatient driver behind me instantly overtook, crushing the iguana with a loud splat.

The only animals for which I have noticed Tobago drivers slowing down are sheep and goats. As the herd leisurely crosses the road, cars come to a halt, the vehicular line extending for as long as the animals take to traverse. Perhaps because goats and sheep are seen as "livelihood", they are treated with more reverence on roadways.

Dogs, cats, chickens and birds are not so fortunate. Commonly sighted black-feathered pancakes are those chickens that crossed the road but did not reach to the other side. Flattened cats with bulging eyes and open mouths are not a rare spectacle. Bloated canine carcasses at the roadside are perhaps most common.

Not too long ago a runaway dog for which a group of us had been searching, was found dead on the highway near the Signal Hill traffic lights. His bloated, putrid body was a distressing sight. His twisted face, extended tongue, bulging eyes and trailing guts told the tale of instant death (the only consolation) most likely after impact from a torpedo of a car or a very heavy vehicle.

Usually the bodies of dead animals are left to go through the stages of decomposition visibly, at the roadside. It is a common, but not welcome sight — especially for an island that prides itself on tourism.

Who is mandated to move the bodies of dead animals? In the case of the above mentioned dog, we wanted to have his body removed, as it was distressing to those of us who had been connected to him. I contacted the TTSPCA and was told that they do not deal with removal of road kill. I was advised to call public health and was given a similar response. I contacted the Tobago Animal Hospital and was told that they do not do it but, at a price, would be willing to collect the body and take it to Studley Park dump. In the end, preferring the dog to be honourably buried rather than dumped, I went to the highway myself, pulled the body to the verge and covered it, awaiting help from two friends who transported the body to Buccoo cliff for a funeral and burial.

Two days later, I noticed a dog sitting on the sidewalk in front of Fortune Plaza. “Beautiful dog,” I thought.

The next morning, passing the same spot, I saw her stiff, bloated body on the other side of the road. I contacted Phoebe — owner of Phoebe’s (store) — with the unfortunate news. Dogs from the area gather outside of Phoebe’s, to be fed, watered and loved by Phoebe and her employees. Understandably, the beloved dog’s death was a blow. Phoebe’s husband covered and moved the body.

Two days later I came upon the motionless body of a villager’s young pet dog lying in the middle of the road. I stopped and lifted the still warm corpse to the verge. How many cars and pedestrians had passed the body without noticing or caring? How many would have carelessly driven over it until its guts were exposed?

We need speed bumps, especially in residential areas where people’s pets and children, playing innocently on the street, are at the mercy of Grand Prix wannabes.

Many drivers do not slow down (in fact, some speed up) when they see an animal crossing the road ahead of them. They barely seem to care that their excessive speed would kill humans, far less animals.

Life is not a video game. Please slow down. Have respect for all life.