Sleeping police on West End racecourse

THE EDITOR, Sir:

As a long-established Canadian visitor to West End, Negril, I wish to comment on the letter in your Saturday, March 8 issue of The Gleaner concerning the traffic on the West End Road in that town.

Like Audrey Wright and many others, I, too, fear for my life every time I step on to this particular thoroughfare. I, too, lie in my bed at night waiting for the shriek of tyres, the crumpling of metal, and the moans of the injured.

The speed limit on the West End Road is 50km per hour, a law which is regularly flouted with impunity. Motorcyclists are the worst offenders, often travelling up to two or three times the legal limit. Exacerbating the problem are the numerous blind curves that these maniacs take as if they're on a racecourse.

Three years ago, I wrote a letter to The Gleaner concerning the death of a tourist from Kentucky (see my letter of 07/02/2011) who was struck and killed by a speeding motorist as he walked to his West End resort. Since that senseless accident, nothing has changed, and in fact, the situation has deteriorated considerably.

What we have here is another tragedy waiting to happen. All it will take is someone travelling at high speed, a blown tyre or unseen pothole and other lives will be lost. It may come in the form of a vehicle slamming into one of the numerous restaurant patios that dot the street or, God forbid, into a group of pickney as they walk home from the all-age school.

When disaster strikes, we'll hear the same complaint that was put forward following the Negril jet ski incident of a few weeks ago, namely, that laws were in place to protect innocent people but were not enforced. Everyone knew there was a serious problem, but nothing was done to correct it until it was too late.

The argument is always made that the West End Road should have sidewalks. While that would alleviate the problem of pedestrians being forced to walk on the road, it will not do anything to address the real issue - speeding. A sidewalk will not stop an out-of-control vehicle.

The West End Road is not a highway; it is a residential/commercial street. There are proven methods to curb dangerous driving on such routes, methods which, in addition to increased police presence, do not impede the progress of emergency vehicles. The employment of such methods is long overdue.

CANADIAN TOURIST

West End, Negril