Drivers urged to slow down

Reduce your speed! The plea comes from the Barbados Road Safety Association (BRSA) which wants the Spring Garden Highway renamed and the speed limit for motorists reduced from 80 to 60 kpm.The BRSA made the appeal yesterday at the launch of its Pledge To Drive Safely campaign at Weisers On The Bay, Spring Garden.Minister of Social Care Chris Sinckler was first to take the pledge, and members of the public were asked to do likewise, making a personal commitment to “abstain from bad road habits”. The association’s president Sharmaine Roland-Bowen said that the term “highway” encouraged motorists to speed and minimised caution, and therefore should be changed.Two of the 11 fatal accidents so far this year occurred on the Spring Garden Highway, the latest on July 12.Roland-Bowen said pedestrian signs were not very “conspicuous” and presented a challenge for people attempting to cross the road.She also said the Government and the judicial system had a major role to play in road safety and felt people who took the lives of others on the road should get more than “a slap on the wrist”.Shelly Ross, secretary of the BRSA, said that 95 per cent of road accidents resulted from “driver error”. Therefore it was up to drivers to change their attitudes and try to save lives.The BRSA also made a special plea to party goers this Crop-Over weekend to exercise extreme caution on the roads, especially after drinking alcohol. Ross added that hosts of the popular “drinks free” events should exercise responsibility toward patrons who left their premises drunk. The BRSA will be seeking road safety pledges from the public during its campaign, which will be taken to supermarkets and other establishments.  The association is also asking corporate Barbados to support its latest campaign.