Tuesday's fatal accident in Caura was a tragedy waiting to happen, as are so many others all over this country. A couple of things stand out from this accident which are associated with many bars (rum shops) across the country and which can be considered potential contributing factors. Many of the bars are literally on the road and have no guard rails to protect property and life. You see, in the old days there were no building codes which stipulated that you must be 15 feet from the road and have parking for patrons. So patrons could be inside but yet still outside, as was the case in Tuesday's accident. In the old days there were opening and closing hours and days. Today, as the owner of the "bar" where this tragedy occurred said, it's open any day, any time and of course he was opened the next day for business as usual. You see, it's so easy to go to a bar for a drink any day, any time, so why stay home where it would be safer to have that drink.
There is absolutely no consideration by bar owners regarding the consumption levels of patrons. Which barman would tell a patron he had too much to drink? A sale is a sale even if you are already on all fours. As true Trinis we have also adopted some bad habits like liming on pavements or having a drink while parked at the side of the road and of course jaywalking. These are not safe practices but go unheeded. And by the way, what is the speed limit on our main roads? Well who cares, there are no police patrols (motorbikes or vehicles) or cameras to detect per- petrators anyway so we will continue to go to the bars (rum shops) any day, any time; lime and drink on the pavements and roadways, and of course drive at breakneck speeds until another such tragedy occurs. You see, drunk or sober, such accidents could occur because of the number of contributing factors that we take for granted as the party country of the Caribbean. If we are really serious about the carnage on the roads, we must also address these issues.
Ricardo Lijiertwood
Via e-mail
