Taxi group head wants end to deadly potholes

Following the tragic deaths of two individuals in less than two months because of accidents allegedly caused by potholes, the president of the Transport Operators Development Sustainable Service (TODSS), Egerton Newman, is calling for urgent action to address the worsening state of the nation's roads.

"If the roads are not addressed, we're going to have more of what happened yesterday (Wednesday), and the government need to understand that we are losing our people because of this," Newton said. He said that there are some potholes over a decade old on the nation's roads.

"The roads are not being fixed properly. The roads are not being maintained properly and, more so, the roads are not being built properly," Newton added.

"Right now, if you take a drive on the St Thomas new piece of carpet, you will notice that many parts of the road are in disrepair right now. And the roads have not been officially opened as yet, but we have breakaways, we have major cracks in the road," Newman said.

Two days ago, 26-year-old motorcyclist Shanoy Irving lost his life in Hanover after swerving to avoid a pothole and colliding with a truck. On October 11, 33-year-old Sabrina Garwood died in a motor vehicle crash in St James, which was reportedly caused by a pothole. Garwood was a passenger in a car travelling along the Brandon Hill main road around 1:15 a.m. when the driver lost control after hitting a pothole near the Blossom Gardens Children's Home. The vehicle then crashed into a concrete wall.

"It is not uncommon for these potholes to cause accidents. I was taking a taxi from Half-Way Tree to the Mountain View area a week ago and, as the man was trying to miss one pothole, drop in another one, and he burst two tyres at the same time," Newman said.

Renowned analyst Dr Parris Lyew-Ayee Jr, said that, although driver behaviour remains the leading cause of road crashes, deteriorating road conditions significantly contribute to unsafe driving practices. As a result, potholes have become a common hazard, leading to both accidents and vehicular damage. Newman said that the deplorable road conditions are also affecting the commuters.

"We have to be sometimes be charging two or three times the fare for commuters because we have to detour for miles. And we don't want that to happen. We don't want to overcharge our passengers. But the fact is, because of the road condition, we have to do this," Newman said.