Comments on: 1,556 Visit ER Due To Road Accidents In 2017

By: Sickofantz

Sickofantz — Sat, 09 Dec 2017 12:55:37 +0000

Why don’t you just plan. If I go out I always make sure that one of us has agreed not to drive. It’s that simple. This entitlement has to stop. You have no right to go out and drink over the limit if you haven’t planned ‘safe’ transport. This is what people do in the rest of the developed world.

By: Mixitup

Mixitup — Sat, 09 Dec 2017 01:18:07 +0000

I’ve always said the same.. Driving behind someone traveling at 35kph is torture! Raise the limit to 45kph and drop the speed of tickets being issued to 55kph, I think we would see less speed, less aggressive drivers, less risky overtaking…
35kph in 2017 is obsurd!

By: Toodle-oo

Toodle-oo — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 22:28:06 +0000

I totally agree with what JB said about the introduction of the change in the 2nd hand car market. I clearly recall that only months after it was changed in ’93 the amount of cars on the road exploded. Then I started hearing feedback from tourists about how bad the traffic was , continually .
By the time ’98 or so rolled around I knew people who were on their 5th car since ’93 and their ‘old’ first car was still in perfect condition and running fine !

As for the assessment number issue , we now have a situation where people who would historically complain about the abusers in the past are now doing it themselves to protect the safety of immediate family members who they do not want to be exposed , unprotected , to the lunacy on the roads 24 hours a day . I guess they figured that no-one ever got caught or prosecuted for the abuse so why should they worry ?

People who advertise their apartments for rent and warn ‘ no assessment number available ‘ should be shut down !

By: Osirian Meridian

Osirian Meridian — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 21:04:23 +0000

If you go to any other civilized country on earth, you will find roads like ours with 80kph speed limits. Such as in Canada. Highly populated roads, houses right smack against the road edges on both sides, kids playing on the side of the road, and signs warning of kids next to a posted 80kph speed limit sign. Everyone drives 80kph down this ONE LANE WIDE – yet two way – Bermuda-style road. Come to Bermuda, you are on bigger and much safer roads than this. I suggest a total utter revision of our speed limit here, and we must have designated zones of higher and lower speeds. Harbor Road on the curves is safe for 20-30kph, Kindley Field stretch is safe for 80-90 kph. If you dont think this is safe, you are a terrible driver and have no place on the road. Common road speed should be 60-70kph, without question. Hamilton City should be 20kph on the streets with pedestrians, and Front St. etc should be 40-50kph. Everyone needs to grow up and stop blaming speed, We live in a ridiculous island with a geriatric speed limit. Actually, most geriatrics in every other nation drive 80-110kph, so we are worse.

By: Osiris

Osiris — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 20:56:09 +0000

You people have serious problems here, the issue is not speeding. The speed limit here is archaic and is and was literally made for the horse buggies which could only trot 22mph on the sand roads back then. We have paved roads and vehicles with sophisticated brake systems now. We deserve a realistic speed limit tier, which suits each area of roads. Driving very slow causes accidents, I don’t care what any of you say, it’s a fact I see every day here. People go slow and drive erratic, thinking they are being “safe drivers”, but they slam on brakes and cause people to overtake in fear of having an accident or wondering if the person is senile. Going slow makes everyone late, and makes everyone angry, frustrated, drives up our blood pressure and affects our health and jobs and family. It causes people to speed when you go too slow, come on and accept it as fact. The REAL issue in Bermuda is drunk drivers and terrible drivers who pull out of gates and entrances and launch their cars into the road causing collisions. This should be dangerous driving, fined by $1,000. But everyone does it nowadays. And nobody uses indicator lights, which used to be a Due Care offence, $250 fine. These issues here are the cause of all these accidents, I can promise you. I live it every day, and I almost get into accidents every day because of these things.

By: ConcernedBermudian

ConcernedBermudian — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 20:36:06 +0000

Do you know why people get bikes ‘Nonsense’? Its because it is faster to get to work, easier to park and cheaper all around. Can you imagine if there were no bikes in Bermuda and you had 65,000 driving in cars? You would take hours just to get to work. Having a bike and being able to pass cars (3rd laning) when they are stopped is not unsafe when one does it at safe speeds. The problems are at night when people are drunk or driving super fast and look at all these accidents that police are posting on twitter. They ALL involve cars.

By: PBanks

PBanks — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 20:32:30 +0000

I suspect you’re right. Apartment may be empty, but heck, why not make a little profit and loan assessment numbers to people? No wonder there’s no free car spaces at my condos – people with two cars occupying the joint.

By: bee

bee — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 19:14:09 +0000

it’s because people ‘rent’ out their un-used assessment numbers.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 18:40:11 +0000

30k? Are you crazy? Have you ever been driving behind someone actually doing the speed limit (which is 35k)? Come on. The actual “unofficial” speed limit is 50kmph and we all know it.

By: PBanks

PBanks — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 17:08:03 +0000

Agreed 100% – many of these collisions aren’t ‘accidents’ by any stretch.

By: Jus' Wonderin'

Jus' Wonderin' — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 16:53:00 +0000

If you could find a taxi after a night out it would help us all smfh! Or ones that are willing to go anywhere to drop you off…

By: Nonsense

Nonsense — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 16:44:12 +0000

What do you mean “making the bikes have to pass and 3rd lane”? That seems like a huge part of the problem, that there’s this notion that it’s impossible to maintain the flow of traffic, that there’s a necessity to overtake. Just leave on time to get where you need to go, stay in your lane, and let’s not all get each other killed out there. Seems fair to me.

By: NewinBDA

NewinBDA — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 16:41:24 +0000

I’ve only been here a few months, but I see no evidence at all of police reigning in unsafe scooter drivers. They are out of control.

By: Joe Bloggs

Joe Bloggs — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 15:50:05 +0000

I mostly agree with you. The introduction of a second-hand car market has a lot to do with the number of cars on the road, as does the decline in inspection standards at TCD. I still keep my car looking good, but the old days cars not having stickers or ANY RUST WHATSOEVER are long gone. I see cars on the road now that actually have duct tape holding things together!

As for bikes overtaking, that is hardly new. But the widening and straightening of roads has made what used to be called “pack racers” much more aggressive.

By: Shari-Lynn Pringle

Shari-Lynn Pringle — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 15:41:55 +0000

Thank you Triangle Drifter. The majority are road traffic CRASHES not accidents.

By: ConcernedBermudian

ConcernedBermudian — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 15:35:54 +0000

There are now too many cars/trucks on the road. What happened to 1 car per family? What about instituting that you can only travel in a car if you have multiple persons in it, car sharing would be great and cut down the traffic. Count how many times you see 1 person driving a massive car, its insane and no need for so many big cars. This increase in cars is making the bikes have to pass and 3rd lane.

By: Joe Bloggs

Joe Bloggs — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 15:26:52 +0000

I wasn’t THAT bad, but 30+ years ago I did get caught speeding at 52 kph and had to pay a $70 dollar fine (which I could not afford). In those days, 2 speeding tickets in 3 years was an automatic 6 months off the road.

Needless to say I DIDN’T DO IT AGAIN either!

By: Micro

Micro — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 15:03:04 +0000

Speed limit is 35kmh tho.

By: Bdabye

Bdabye — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 14:02:06 +0000

30+ years ago I got booked driving without due care and attention for going down the inside of cars on front street during rush hour. Due care carried a automatic 6 months off the road. Needless to say I DIDN’T DO IT AGAIN.

By: Triangle Drifter

Triangle Drifter — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 13:33:43 +0000

Accidents were they? Sorry, but an accident is usually something that is unavoidable. It is what happens when there is equipment failure such as a blown tire or failed brakes or some other mechanical failure which cannot be anticipated.

What we have here is some 1500 people who wound up in the ER because of a crash. A crash that could have been avoided had they not been speeding, had they not been driving impaired, had they not been on the phone, had they not been otherwise distracted, had they been paying attention to road surface conditions, had they not caused the crash themselves.

You rarely hear of a plane going down because of an accident. Most of the time it is a crash caused by one or a series of human mistakes.

By: Joe Bloggs

Joe Bloggs — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 13:21:08 +0000

“I urge you to plan ahead at this time of year when parties are common. Think about and arrange transportation home in advance. Appoint a designated driver. Take public transport or take a taxi. If you are impaired and you are at a friend’s home, stay over.”

I urge all drivers to (a) actually stop at stop signs and look both ways before proceedings, (b) drive at a safe speed, no faster than 30 kph, (c) do not overtake unless it is clearly safe to do so, and (d) show courtesy to other road users (especially pedestrians).