Rocky start to September on the roads

Nine days into the start of September, eight persons have already died in motor vehicle crashes.

Among the latest victims are taxi driver Cecil Kemp, Patsy Bagaloo-Gaynor and 17-year-old student Jamilia Wallace, all of St Catherine addresses. It is reported that on Saturday, about 3:30 p.m., along the Spanish Town bypass in the vicinity of Brunswick Avenue, a white International truck and a white Nissan AD wagon were heading towards Angels. It is alleged that the truck stopped at the traffic light while the Nissan motor car with the three persons aboard failed to stop and collided in the truck's rear. All three occupants of the motor car were pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital.

Less than 24 hours earlier, firefighter Shahine Nelson was crushed to death in a two-vehicle collision in the vicinity of Brunswick Avenue and Angels Toll Plaza in St Catherine. The police initial report said a 2007 blue and white International 800 truck collided with the front of a 2018 grey Honda Fit, that Nelson was driving. The truck, travelling north on Brunswick Avenue, was turning right on to Angels Toll Plaza Road when its rear wheels struck the car, fatally injuring Nelson. A first responder at the scene of Nelson's crash stated that the tractor trailer was not fitted with any underrun protection device.

According to regulations set out in the Road Traffic Act, a rear underrun protection device and a side underrun protection device should be fitted to every trailer, laden weight of which exceeds 3,500 kilogrammes and any other commercial motor vehicle, the laden weight of which exceeds 12,000 kilogrammes.

"I don't think it (protection device) would have prevented the fatality that we saw on scene. But overall, after seeing this incident, it would be good if those big vehicles were to abide by the law and had them outfitted on their vehicle. It might be the difference between life and death for someone," the first responder said.

While not blaming the truck driver for the crash, Victor Anderson of the National Road Safety Council states that it is the job of the Island Traffic Authority to ensure that vehicles bearing this weight should be fitted with the safety devices.

"It's all the law can do; just ensure that these vehicles are checked more frequently because they are on the road a lot more. The law is set up to protect people being killed in those circumstances but if the inspections are not being done and people are removing the devices, for whatever reason, and I'm not so sure what that would be, it would cause tremendous loss of life," he added.

- T.T.