Too many pedestrians are dying on the country’s roads.
Police road safety co-ordinator Brent Batson raised this concern last week when he said pedestrian deaths accounted for 45 per cent of road-traffic fatalities for the year. He said this following the recent deaths of multiple pedestrians, including a beloved pre-school principal in Point Fortin.
Road fatalities have risen by six per cent so far, with 95 road-related deaths for the year, compared with 90 for all of 2023.
Overall, road fatality numbers have been trending downward, from more than 150 in 2014 to an all-time low of less than 75 in 2021.
The police even received an award for that year’s tally from Arrive Alive. However, the drop was more likely the result of the reduced presence of drivers and pedestrians on the streets owing to covid19 restrictions than any trend-shattering efforts by officers.
According to statistics on Arrive Alive's website, the most dangerous days for road fatalities are Saturday and Sunday, based on numbers from 2022 and 2023. Over those two years, road traffic accidents proved the most deadly after midnight and in the early hours, between 3 am and 5 am.
Almost half of the road deaths in 2023 were people ages 25 to 45, with drivers at 42 per cent while 33 per cent were pedestrians.
Even without further analysis of the deadliest accidents, it’s clear that the police already have targets for traffic monitoring that they must address more decisively.
Globally, road traffic accidents are among the top ten causes of death, with as many as 3,400 people estimated to perish daily in such incidents. According to the World Health Organization, among the 15- to 29-year-old cohort, road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death, accounting for more than 300,000 fatalities.
Mr Batson noted that pedestrians placed themselves at risk by ignoring overpasses available to cross highways safely and choosing to cross six lanes of traffic to avoid a longer walk to safety.
The road safety advocate is correct that the high-impact collisions associated with highways increase the likelihood of mortal injury.
However, pedestrian risk-taking is easily matched by bullish driving habits, best illustrated by the national lack of regard for marked pedestrian crosswalks, parking on sidewalks forcing pedestrians into the street, and unnecessary speeding on secondary roads.
It's not enough for the police to vacillate between being pleased by low fatality numbers and lamenting a rise in road deaths.
A sustained effort at educating drivers and pedestrians on safer road use and greater enforcement by traffic wardens is merited not just in the current environment of concern but as a rule on the road.
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