Don’t thief a chance

THERE he was, just standing at the side of the road, right outside his own house, waiting for a taxi to take him to work at the Mayaro Fire Station. But Satesh Ramkissoon, 32, never made it that far.

The fireman was crushed by a dump truck on Tuesday after it veered off the road. Another vehicle was also involved in this sad sequence of events.

“Both drivers are blaming each other, but they both were speeding,” an eyewitness said.

It’s a grim reminder of the responsibility drivers have, particularly at this time of year. Only last week, another truck was involved in a fatal accident in which the driver of a car died on impact.

Officials will have to investigate and determine legal liability in both cases.

For now, we implore drivers to be mindful of the law. Be considerate of the fact that you share the road with others.

The car in front of you is not just a car. Inside is somebody’s mother, father, child, sister, brother or loved one. Pedestrians and cyclists have a right to use the road, too.

It has been a year of unprecedented and distressing developments, of covid19 restrictions, of economic crisis, of death and despair, of estranged families and closed borders. Christmas will therefore be a time when many might seek some kind of relief, will muster what energy and resources they have to eat, drink and be merry.

But that does not mean we now have licence to throw caution to the wind. That does not mean we should feel entitled to thief a chance by drinking and driving. It’s not worth it.

The authorities, too, need to gear up.

According to Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan, the implementation, at long last, of the new demerit points system had resulted in a 29 per cent decrease in road traffic deaths as at the start of this last quarter.

But that hundreds of people have already notched up enough demerits to have their licences suspended speaks to a road culture that may be harder to change than imagined. This is in spite of numerous weekly reminders at the police media briefings and the work of the road-safety NGO Arrive Alive, itself sadly engendered by a tragic fatal road incident.

Additionally, the authorities should not discount the impact of the pandemic on the statistics. Lockdown life, as well as a new normal, with staggered working shifts and schools going online, all thinned the flow of traffic on the roads, reducing the number of incidents.

The Licensing Division, which saw some teething problems in the rollout of its own digital measures this year, plans further reforms for next year. Nevertheless, the need for simple, old-fashioned police enforcement and the exercise of good judgment on the part of drivers remains the same.