‘Insult’ sparks walkout

The Barbados Road Safety Association and the Ministry of Transport and Works (MTW) seem to be on a collision course.
And it’s all about to happen following a walkout by Road Safety Association personnel from a road safety meeting after they accused an MTW officer of dismissing their suggestion about reducing the speed limit on a section of the ABC Highway.
According to Road Safety Association president Sharmane Roland-Bowen and secretary Shelly Ross, yesterday’s meeting of the Traffic Management Committee of MTW revolved around the Safe Systems Approach based on the United Nations Decade Of Action For Road Safety programme which challenges countries to reduce accidents and save lives.
She said the Safe Systems Approach had shifted the blame from road users for causing all the accidents, and now incorporated road designers, legislators, police and people who taught road safety.
“We were talking about the ‘Bermuda triangle’ . . . that when you leave the Garfield Sobers Roundabout and are going [on] to Graeme Hall [Errol Barrow Roundabout] that the speed be reduced to 60 kmp . . .  [because of] how that road is shaped. You know [there were] a lot accidents. They installed Jersey barriers, but that is not going to stop accidents,” said Roland-Bowen.
“After Sharmane made the suggestion about dropping the speed limit, it was insulting to hear [an official] ask her where she got her ‘engineering [degree] from’. He said: ‘You’re no engineer!’” said Ross.
She added that she interpreted his remarks as accusing them of being stupid.
“We represent the road users.?We go out and interact with the public and get feedback. It is not just what we in the association feel . . . . And [it is not right] for you to be telling me that because I don’t work at MTW, I don’t have any right to speak about it (engineering),” said Ross.
Efforts to contact Chief Technical Officer Frank Thornhill for comment were futile.