Today I turn 30. This is indeed a special day for me, not because it is my birthday but because I am now 30. I just think there is something very special about the 30s.
Anyways, there are some things I am concerned about and the first is the number of overloaded Transport Board buses transporting schoolchildren to and from school.
I see it as an unwise, dangerous and unprincipled practice that has been going on for years and years and the relevant authorities keep turning a blind eye to it. It seems there is one rule for the minibus and ZR community and a different one for the Transport Board.
Let’s say, for argument’s sake, that a Transport Board bus legally should carry 47 but on a given evening is carrying 70. I want parents to know that if that school bus is involved in an accident, the police will submit a report to the relevant insurance company, which will have a list of passengers in the bus and those injured.
Based on my information, since the insurance company can’t prove who are the “legal 47 passengers”, they will attend to the cases for the first 47 listed in the report. If your child was indeed a “legal passenger” but is No. 48, then your goose is cooked and you may have to fight your case in court.
Every school bus that is overloaded endangers the lives of the children in it. Let’s not wait until a situation arises for us to do something about it.
I am concerned about the use of weed whackers in the public domain.
One afternoon I was driving down Rendezvous Hill heading towards Big B Supermarket. In the distance I could see a man on the left-hand side of the road cutting grass. My first response, once I have time, is to roll up my windows – which I did.
As I passed the man with the weed whacker, I heard something hit the left side of my car. I stopped my car further down the road so as not to disrupt traffic and got out to check. Yup, a sharp object had dented and chipped the paint off my car.
I have a friend who was hit in the eye by a projectile from a weed whacker while driving. My windshield was hit by one of those projectiles too. Due to the dangers that arise from being struck, people are often afraid, uncomfortable or very cautious around those using weed whackers. Some people even take one hand off the steering wheel to protect their eyes and the side of their face.
I want to ask all people using weed whackers to be vigilant and considerate of passing vehicles and people, and to stop using them until those passing are a safe distance away.
I am concerned about the number of people walking around with sponsor sheets and asking for donations.
I am extremely cautious in giving donations since I don’t really know who is genuine from who wants to deceive and “rob” me. In the case of one individual, it seems as if asking for sponsorship is a job.
Is there a way to distinguish who is genuine from who is fake? If there is, please tell me. I don’t think a stamp is proof enough.
I am concerned about people burning garbage in public.
Legislation was recently passed in Barbados prohibiting people from smoking in public. I support Wayne Poonka Willock in his plea to see a similar law passed that would prevent people from burning leaves, garbage, animals, boxes and so on in public.
More often than not, the culprits are not the ones disadvantaged; it is those innocent people downwind. Will we wait until someone dies as a result of this unkind, discourteous and selfish act to do something about it?
• Corey Worrell is a former Commonwealth youth ambassador. Email [email protected].
