With 182 accidents taking place on just four kilometres of the M2 Ring Road between 2013 and 2015, Works and Transport Minister Fitzgerald Hinds says the road will be upgraded to make it safer.
In a media conference at the site between Debe and Golconda where WPC Rashma Sirjudeen, her son, Rahul, and mother, Una Samkarran, died when their car slammed into a truck last June, Hinds said that among the accidents were ten deaths and 36 victims were seriously injured.
He said Government would continue to erect warning signs and provide safe road surfaces but called on citizens to do their part by obeying the speed limits and driving while sober.
He said that was especially important during the Christmas season, stressing there were already 144 road deaths for the year.
He added: “We will sanction the milling around the corners to create a system to bring drivers who might be nodding off to alertness and to deal with the slipping problem that some complaints may exist, particular around the curbs.
“Once experts, such as the Brent Batsons, the Arrive Alives, engineers at my ministry, the Transport Commissioner, the police department and traffic wardens, make recommendations, I give the assurance on behalf of the Government that we will find the money and we will find the energy to get them done,” Hinds said.
According to transport engineer, Valini Samaroo, milling will be done around the corners to increase traction as people have complained about their vehicles skidding of the road.
She said the ministry’s traffic management branch was also looking at installing rumble strips.
However, she said drivers needed to stay within the 50 km/hr speed limit as the road was designed for that maximum speed.
‘Drivers need to change attitude’
Speaking by telephone yesterday Sirjudeen’s uncle Ricardo Dass said while he was appreciative of the ministry’s plan, he believed motorists would continue to speed along the M2 Ring Road.
He said although the safety features would minimise accident drivers in T&T possessed the wrong attitude.
“Our attitude as a people is what is causing a lot of these problems. You can put rumble strips, you can put what you want, people are still going down there at 90 km/hr. Accidents will be minimised but you will have accidents because of attitudes,” Dass said.
With relatives still grieving at the lost of his niece, great nephew and sister, he said the bureaucracy in T&T was too great as others have died before something could be done to the road.
He said T&T needed to be proactive rather than reactive and there should be experts looking at solutions in other accident-prone areas.
Speedy repairs by WASA
Hinds said a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between his ministry and the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) would be signed soon to have roads repaired quickly after the utility completed repairs or installation works.
He said last week there were discussions with WASA and the MOU would seek to allow the ministry to have the utility inform it of works so there could be authorisation.
“This is not new, it has simply not been enforced and I have promised my Prime Minister and the Cabinet, and now promises the people of T&T, that I will exert best efforts to ensure all of us work sensibly to maintain proper roads in this country and the management of their use.”
Hinds added that T&T had a poor record of law enforcement with regards to contractors leaving debris behind on the roads. He said that also led to accidents and he intended to ensure that taxpayers got value for their dollars.