In the past decade hundreds of Bahamians have perished on this nation’s streets. Indeed, no day passes when there is no report of either serious ‘accident’, injury, or death on the streets of The Bahamas.
Of course, some of those who are hurt are visitors. And, some of them are tourists who are maimed or who succumb to their injuries.
Today the sadness continues in our country as neighbors, family and friends mourn the demise of so many of their fellow Bahamians who are perishing on the streets.
The mayhem and carnage continues unabated. Practically every one seems helpless in the face of this bloody onslaught. And here of late, death comes unaccompanied by outrage.
Where once the public could be expected to rage and lament the furious passage of one of its members from time into eternity, we now have the numbed acceptance that seems to suggest that such untimely deaths should be treated as if they were acts of God.
The fact of the matter is that they are not.
Road traffic ‘accidents’ are very often far from accidental. In some instances, when death comes, it comes after the most careful planning. Take for example, situations where teenagers ‘borrow’ the family car, go to a party, get drunk, and thereafter crash the family car, leaving in the mangled wreck the bloodied remains of some who become corpses.
What is also so very sad is that most of these types of ‘accidents’ can and should be prevented. While we are certain that there are sound arguments concerning the need for better roads and more responsible drivers, there is also a case to be made that there are simply too many vehicles on the streets driven by young people abusing drugs and alcohol.
As is to be expected, this is costly to the entire society.
We note that tomb stones or memorial markers are being installed on John F. Kennedy Drive, a thoroughfare where many people have died in crashes.
This practice is wrong. While we sympathize and emphatize with loved-ones who are bereaved, such markers should be authorized by the relevant government authority.
In this regard, it is interesting to note how The Bahamas Society of Engineers defines the problem.
They say that “For the past four years in The Bahamas the traffic fatality totals average 60 persons per annum. This is an average of 60 persons perishing on our roadways each year. This year during the first quarter, the traffic fatality count is 12. To say that there is a major challenge ahead is an understatement. If the country lost 60 passengers a year on our national airline Bahamasair, the public outcry would be far reaching and deafening.”
They also note “the country’s challenge could therefore be put in perspective by looking comparatively at the region. In The Bahamas the fatalities per 100,000 population averaged approximately 20 per year for the past four years. During that period in Barbados that figure was approximately 9, in Jamaica it was 13, and in the United States it was15.
The Bahamas Society of Engineers also notes that a travel advisory was issued on The Bahamas informing visitors from countries such as the United States, Britain, and Canada that the leading cause of death among travelers to The Bahamas are traffic crashes. Both visitors and residents are meeting their demise on our roadways at an unacceptable rate. This translates to a substantial financial burden on the country taking into account impacts such as lost wages, medical, insurance expenses, and negative international media exposure.”
Furthermore, there are far too many drunk drivers on the city streets. And there are far too many spruced up wrecks on the streets. One mechanic we know aptly describes some of the vehicles on the streets as coffins on wheels.
What is both baffling and unfortunate is the clear absence of any effective strategy on the part of the public authority. While Road Traffic Authorities could be expected to talk a good talk about strategy and as to how they are just about to implement some new scheme or the other, the fact remains that the death spiral continues.
Not to be outdone, the Minister of Transport has also weighed in with her laments as to how unfortunate the carnage on the streets happens to be. But here again, lament-filled talk is merely followed by more lament-filled talk.
Today there is an urgent need for the Government of The Bahamas to take the troubles on this nation’s streets seriously; and come up with the right mix of laws, policies, programs and procedures that would stem the destruction on the streets.
Editorial from The Bahama Journal
August 2, 2005
