Be more careful on roads

THE EDITOR, Sir:

WE ARE losing too many people to traffic crashes, and I was so touched by Dr Alfred Dawes’‘A letter to my unborn child’ ( Gleaner, May 9, 2018). On Wednesday, we lost another two on the Melrose Bypass.

On Thursday morning, as I waited on the bus to go to work, I witnessed something remarkable. A motorcyclist who was ahead in the traffic on the span of the dual carriageway heading to the airport, came off his bike to assist an elder lady who was seeking to cross to the other side. Refreshingly, another man from that side met them in the median to assist. As they were about to cross, here comes a speeding motorist, whose only response was to sit on his horn and press gas!

I have been there often enough to see accidents and near misses. As a matter of fact, two concrete utility posts lay flat on the ground testifying to increased bad and impolite road use.

There is very little distance from the roundabout, where one should check one’s speed, to the pedestrian crossing, where one should also reduce one’s speed and be prepared to stop, so I cannot fathom why so many persons are drag-racing there at peak hours.

We are already losing too many of our citizens to gun violence, domestic violence, lifestyle diseases. (A little care on the road goes a long way.)

To be commended are the two good Samaritans (Jamaicans) who stepped up to help the lady.

SHARON PARCHMENT SCOTT