Audio: MP Wayne Caines On Road Safety
We have had four road fatalities this year and we are losing 13, 14 people every single year to road traffic fatalities, MP Wayne Caines said, adding that ”there has to be a community conversation about road safety” and it “must be a collective effort as a country.”
Speaking during the Motion to Adjourn on Friday night, Mr Caines said, “Something’s been troubling me for the last few weeks, and it isn’t political.”
“I reflected this week on the country’s conversations around Minister Hayward,” he said, adding that he also reflected on the “hypocrisy of this country” becoming “up in arms over the slave master’s house being torn down” with “everyone writing and pontificating about these things.”
“And I thought about the fourth road fatality for this year…didn’t move the dial. Nobody marched, nobody ran down to TCD, nobody called for more police officers patrolling the streets, nobody called for legislation to be amended.
“We have become so familiar with people dying on our roads that it doesn’t make a blip, nobody gets concerned about it. We are in March and have had four road fatalities for the year.
“Every single day we see a traffic advisory coming out where traffic has been diverted because there has been a significant accident on one part of our roads up and down the island. We see, as we drive, people coming like bats out of hell, driving as if they have a death wish. And we cross our fingers hoping that when we get around the corner that our young person or the person that we see on the bike is not sprawled out on the street.”
“We are losing 13, 14 people every single year to road traffic fatalities,” he said, adding that “there has to be a community conversation about road safety” and it “must be a collective effort as a country.”
For full context please listen to Mr Caines’ full remarks
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Category: Accidents and fires, All, News
What about your concern for all the health issues caused by the profits over pollution of a company you run? Surely if you are in charge you would fix this issue or did we sell out Bermuda to a foreign company who couldn’t give a care in the world about Bermudians having clean water and fresh air? So are you actually in charge or just a figure head because you seem like a caring man? The number of people that includes: grandmas, grandpas, babies, children, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters……. Impacted is far more than 14.
I agree the behavior on the road is wreck less at best.
“I agree the behavior on the road is wreck less at best.”
You could have left it at that.
Wrong twin. He doesn’t run the company responsible for the neighborhood pollution.
Driving in Bermuda has deteriorated year over year!
Many driving way too fast!
Lots of reckless overtakes on narrow, winding roads!
Bikes third laning!
Bikes riding 1-2 feet up behind the back of cars!!(what is that all about?!
Bike riders with loose open face helmet, or strap not done up!
Car and bike drivers using cell phones when driving!
Driving under the influence!
Big SUV’s (where are they going on a 21 mile Long Island?)
******* I’m scared to be on these roads! ******
There is no deterrent to the bad reckless behavior on the roads. Too many whats app groups broadcasting where the police are , too many people flashing their headlights warning oncoming traffic. Not only are they assisting with the behavior but obviously condone it. Whats also not happening is when one finally does get caught doing 50+ mph they get a fine. When will licences be taking away and if caught while suspended – Jail ….oh thats right we have too many young men in jail …this island is sliding down a very slippery slope and it all starts with the Government ..they make the rules / laws they approve the consequence.
Until there’s a serious and lengthy crackdown (which wont be politically popular) the mayhem will continue . All of this nonsense about ‘conversations’ isn’t going to achieve anything .
The element that is totally lawless don’t give a rat’s behind about laws as they grew up without observing any . So stupid are they that they have lost friends and family to road madness and they still ride and drive like wild lunatics themselves. Their ace boy could have died the previous night in a horrendous high speed crash and they themselves are out doing the exact same thing themselves the next day .
Some people are incapable of learning .
A major part of the problem is that there are few, if any, police on patrol anymore.
Pack racers have been a fixture in Bermuda for generations, but what I am seeing today is not pack racing, but rather a complete disregard for others by many young people riding motorcycles. Stop signs do not mean what they say. Traffic lights do not mean what they show. Perhaps if we had more police on patrol handing out tickets for violations of the rules of the road people might pay more attention.
And having more police on patrol handing out tickets might also improve the PLP Government coffers.
I was riding a motorcycle through a roundabout and had a 60- 70 year old woman pass me while I was leaning around the corner, she was right next to me on the left in the middle of the circle, something I have never seen yet. Complete lunacy going on with drivers of 4 wheeled vehicles knowing full well they probably won’t get hurt but the rider will get seriously injured.
But don’t you know all of the car and truck drivers are perfect ? All they notice is a select group of wild bikers and then paint them ALL with the same brush.
You know what I say ? Give ‘em all a bike to ride for a month and then get back to us what they then think about people with steering wheels in their hands !
Just wait until the zero engine noise heavy electric cars and trucks with faster acceleration and that require longer braking distances due to their extra weight from the battery start appearing on Bermuda’s roads – and hitting other cars, pedestrians, motorbikes, and bicycles. Fun times are coming!
Let’s take this a step further. Let’s talk about these delivery agents racing up and down the road. Cellphone in hand while driving and in the helmet but police do nothing. Word is not to give tickets unless it’s an accident.
For a while there I thought the delivery agents (one specific company name omitted) were like James Bond who had a license to kill , except they had a license to be speeding lunatics on the roads.
Unless I’ve been in the wrong places at the right times lately I haven’t seen them as much.
This discussion seems to be working. Just this morning I was behind a van that drove at the speed limit, 35kph!
The driver did not stop at stop signs, but he or she did drive at the legal speed limit.
I was recently driving in Bermuda and a few things stuck in my mind as possibly contributing to the decline in road safety:
- the variety of types of car headlights is really difficult on the eyes
- the lack of a painted line down the middle of many roads had me straying into the middle of the road
- of course, the speed of all vehicles was noticeable
“Nobody marched, nobody ran down to TCD, nobody called for more police officers patrolling the streets, nobody called for legislation to be amended.”
People have been calling for changes in policing and legislation for years and years but the politicians are content to parrot condolences and press statements every few months. Come on now.
how do you minister not see the safety concerns with the conditions of these road. I would not be able to show me face if I was in charge of our road and they looked like they do.