A FEW DAYS AGO, the bus on which I was travelling happened upon an accident at My Lord’s Hill and Martinique Road. A three-car-collision had made the road virtually impassable and was causing bedlam on the extremely busy highway. The passengers were therefore forced to sit in the bus for close to one hour and 20 minutes.
What I found unacceptable was the police procedure. The police came to the scene of the accident and immediately proceeded to take statements from the three drivers. This took about an hour. On completion of taking the statements, the officer inspected the vehicles. This took about ten minutes at the most. He then gave permission for the vehicles to be moved.
Now pray tell me, why couldn’t he have inspected the vehicles first and allowed the road to be cleared before spending that hour taking statements?
Priority must be given to reopening roads after accidents. After this is done, the officers can take all the time they want to take statements. This is the age of technology. If necessary, pictures can be taken as well but for God sake, reopen the road as quickly as possible.
In closing, I am appealing to the Royal Barbados Police Force to review its procedures for responding to vehicular accidents, with a view to reopening roads in a timelier manner.
– E. Jerome Davis
