PTSC bus almost ruined our vacation

THE EDITOR: It is now the first anniversary of the wonderful holiday which my wife and I enjoyed on your beautiful island of Tobago.

We loved the unspoilt charm of the island, and found Tobagonians to be very warm and friendly. We have recommended this island as a vacation destination to many of our friends in England.

There was, however, one incident which nearly ruined our entire vacation.

While we were being taken on a tour of the island by our driver, coming up a long hill out of Castara, we were horrified to meet a PTSC bus coming downhill around a blind bend – at high speed – in the middle of the road, heading directly into the path of our car.

Our driver had the great presence of mind to swerve the car sharply to the left, away from the bus, which necessitated the nearside wheels climbing a steep bank on the left-hand side of the road. We missed colliding with the bus by mere inches.

We stopped, in a state of shock. Meantime, the bus had disappeared down the hill, its driver not caring to stop or slow down. Then the enormity of what could have happened dawned on my wife and me and we said a prayer of thanks to God for preserving our lives.

We drove directly to the PTSC depot in Scarborough and reported this incident. Later, we had a very cordial meeting with the PSTC’s general manager of administration/operations for Tobago.

However, after we left Tobago and in the subsequent year that followed, we have heard absolutely nothing about any action which has been taken by the PTSC, and to the best of our knowledge, our driver has not been reimbursed for the damage his car sustained when he swerved it in order to avoiding a collision with the bus.

We thank the people of Tobago for the warm welcome they gave to us, and for sharing their beautiful island with us.

We hope that lessons will have been learnt from our near-accident, so that the lives of other tourists as well as the lives of Tobagonians would not be put in danger.

MICHAEL GOWEN

Solihull, England