By Steve Thomas
Observer Nevis Editor
(Charlestown, Nevis) – It has become a matter of life, death and the calendar.
In December, a man died along the Main Road in Nevis.
In January, a young woman was struck and killed as she walked along the Main Road in the dark.
In February, a bus driver was killed in broad daylight in a two vehicle collision.
On March 4, the Nevis Disaster Management Department hosted an “Emergency Response & Safety Symposium,” inviting concerned officials from the government to look at the problem of road fatalities.
The symposium was an “opportunity to get the stakeholders to address the causes and the problems” associated with road safety, Lester Blackett, the director of the NDMD, said.
Nevis Island Authority Premier the Hon. Joseph Parry attended the seminar. Other attendees included representatives from the police, fire department, education, planning, rescue, human resources and the water department.
“This gave persons the opportunity to look at the situation,” Mr. Blackett said.
The group looked at many aspects of the problem, including traffic flow, seat belt use, child safety seat use, passing, pedestrian crossing design, people driving under the influence and the possibility of using breathalyzers, use of cell phones by drivers, increasing public awareness, asking schools to talk more about safety with young people and the need to improve the 911 emergency system.
“There are too many problems with it right now,” Mr. Blackett said.
Recommendations will be sent to the NIA for review and consideration, Mr. Blackett said, though some steps would have to be pursued at the federal level.
“It was a good first step,” he said.
Mr. Blackett said the subject of road safety will be the focus of his radio program, “Disaster and You,” heard Monday from 5 p.m. – 6 p.m. on Choice FM, 105.3.
More information about this issue can be found at http://www.geocities.com/odpnevis/
