Authorities urged to erect safety guardrail at roundabout

KUCHING: Democratic Action Party ( DAP) Serian branch chairman Edward Andrew Luwak urged the authorities to erect a steel guardrail along an accident prone curve at the Serian roundabout.

“It cannot be that the frequent accidents at this curve at the Serian roundabout are not noticed. If they have been noticed then the relevant authorities have failed to take up measures to prevent the occurrence of accidents at that particular spot of the roundabout.

“Accidents have been one too many and some claimed that accidents happen there every month. Types of vehicles involved in the accidents at the spot varied from ordinary cars to four-wheel drive vehicles and lorries. An army truck was also listed. The site has claimed one life,” he said in a press release on Wednesday.

He claimed that a visit to the site showed there is some poor road engineering. The bend is rather sharp and there is a narrow road shoulder between the road and the ravine on the left.

There is more danger especially if it rains at night. As the road is not brightly lit, those who don’t take extra precautions may not even realise when they are driving off the road before ending up in the ravine below.

Edward said the dangerous bend poses a greater danger to those from outside Serian who are unfamiliar with the roundabout.

One way to address this danger would be to construct a guardrail at the stretch. The guardrail would serve a double purpose: in serving as a barrier to stop vehicles from falling into the ravine as well as to act as a reflector indicating the verge of the road.

He said the fact that more and more vehicles are passing through Serian by the day calls for a need to get this work done urgently.

“Safety depends on everyone. Let the Serian roundabout be a safer spot for all,” he said.