Friday, October 22, 2010

Reckless Driving, Is the Plight of Passengers Respected – Opinion


 Posted by Modou S. Joof on March 12, 2010 at 10:02pm
Banjul, The Gambia (TNBES) Dear Editor, kindly grant me space in your reputable and informative newspaper to express my views off-late the deathly trend undertaken by drivers when plying the road in their daily routine commercial activities. For what I can describe as reckless driving is often perpetrated by commercial drivers who are in a rush just to be registered among the first commercial vehicles to take their return trips from their various garages.

Such deadly acts of driving is often the order of the day in almost all parts of the country, however, I observe that drivers plying the road from Serrekunda to Coastal Road via Sinchu Alagie are seemingly the most
notorious when it comes to over-speeding during rush hours, thus putting the lives of passengers at a great risk.

I was traveling from Sinchu Alagie to Serrekunda, when suddenly the vehicle I board overtake another vehicle near the Wellingara Junction and in a dramatic but deadly moment the other driver rush to intercept the vehicle (which I was in) right at the turning point which almost caused a serious accident. The traffic was brought to a sudden halt and to the dismay of many; the other driver went to the extent of offloading his passengers’ right
in the middle of the road, bringing undue delay to commuters.

These drivers compete for customers without considering the lives of the people they are transporting. It is hard to say it, but I think drivers should not pursue the greed to enrich themselves to the extent of destroying of taking the lives of people. Some drivers are so greedy that they don’t even respect traffic rules and regulations not to talk of the lives (passengers) they carry.

I also observed that many drivers are so aggressive to the extent that they don’t want to admit their fault and tend to open quarries with passengers who deemed it fit to correct them.

We have seen repeated accidents last year, so tragic to the point of lives lost on the spot. Some of those accidents have taken away the good health of individuals, their families’ livelihoods and in some cases their
lives.

It is for this reason I want to use this opportunity to call on the authorities to deploy traffic police to monitor and regulate traffic these areas so as to protect the lives of the passengers and residents these areas. I also suggest that the concerned officials need to organise a forum where drivers can be sensitised on traffic rules and public relations in order to be acquainted with the traffic regulations and know how to deal with the
public.

I also suggest that the public should be vigilant and report to the police any driver found violating traffic rules….. VOL:2 ISSN:117

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