An appeal for less speed and safer driving

EDITOR: Road accidents are taking place very frequent these days. In many cases when proper investigations are done it is often due to reckless driving and excessive speed. In some cases it has nothing to do with reckless driving nor speeding but other factors. We must admit that no matter how careful someone drives an accident can still occur for there are many factors that can cause an accident.

Reckless driving and excessive speed should be avoided and I dare say an increased effort ought to be made by the traffic department to charge these drivers involved. Far too often very little is done by the traffic department to prosecute these drivers, except when they are caught on video or involved in an accident. I know it is very hard to track down these drivers, but in many cases these vans are known by the public and traffic department.

In cases where these drivers are known, the traffic department can keep them under surveillance, with the intention of when caught be prosecuted. On the other hand, the travelling public has a responsibility of not travelling with these vans. For if the travelling public avoids them, they would get the message and would change. On the other hand due to the difficulties of getting public transportation when desired many persons travel in these vans not because they are happy with the driving but have little choice.

It is a known fact that in many cases, most of these drivers do not own the vans they are driving and so for some they would not care less if because of the many accidents the insurance premium goes up since they are not the ones to pay the insurance. They simply drive and get paid. Besides insurance, when a vehicle constantly drives fast and in some cases recklessly, it damages the vehicle in many ways, but again that is not the responsibility of the driver to find the money to do the mechanical and auto repairs on the vehicle but rather the owner of the vehicle.

The craziness is that some of these drivers feel that if they are not driving fast and overtake vehicles on the road they are not driving. On the other hand those who drive responsibly, by taking caution and driving at a reasonable speed are seen as “crampy” and cannot drive. These drivers who many look upon as “crampy” many times take better care of their vehicle and in many cases are the owners of the vehicle. They also get into very little accidents and even when a mechanical failure like a brakes occurs they are able to minimize the effect of the accidents and so the risk of injury or loss of lives is smaller.

Whereas those who drive excessively fast and reckless are at a higher risk, and when an accident occurs it can [be] fatal in many cases.

I beg of us vehicle drivers to drive responsibly and remember that driving fast may seem “hott” but it is not and it is not an indication of a good driver. Let us take care on the road and respect the lives of those who travel with you in your vehicle. The road is not a racing track. Slowing down may mean that you would arrive about 5 or 10 mins later but look at it, when an accident occurs you may never reach your destination and if you do, you would arrive far later than if you had driven normally.

Besides, slowing down is less risky.

May we have safe driving on our roads.

Kennard King