Road Safety Council body complains of traffic hazard on WCD roadway
The Chairman of the West Demerara Road Safety Council is concerned about the safety of road users, since several privately owned trucks have been parking on the public roadway, thereby occupying the pedestrian and cyclists’ lanes.
Peter Katanan explained that the matter has been ongoing for just about two years, and frustrated council members are contemplating what other steps can be taken to protect the road users in Orangestein, East Bank Essequibo, given that they have exhausted just about every measure.
He further stated, with much concern, the number of accidents which have already
A few of the vehicles parked on the turn on Wednesday morning
occurred as a result of the ignorant behaviour of the truck operators, about which the association confronted them on several occasions.
The Chairman claimed that Traffic ranks in ‘D’ Division even issued warnings to the drivers in their presence and in the presence of the Ministry of Public Infrastructure personnel, but this seemingly has made no difference with the operators, who are determined to park on the roadways, endangering the lives of people using the roads.
“These trucks (are) even more dangerous at night, because I have passed and have not even seen reflectors on the back of these 18 wheeler trucks. They even have excavators parking here, and the area has no street lights. It is even much more of a challenge for drivers when it rains because, like I said, there are no street lights, these trucks don’t have reflectors, and they are dark, rusty coloured trucks, which makes it more difficult to notice them,” he explained.
The frustrated official said that just two weeks ago someone reported to him that they almost collided with another vehicle owing to the faulty practices of the drivers. He argued, “These lanes are specifically for pedestrians and pedal cyclists. When they park like that, they have nowhere to walk or ride but in the lane of a moving vehicle, which exposes them to danger”.
To make matters worse, the Chairman noted, the trucks have even been parking on the turns.
