By Julette Bryan, Gleaner WriterST. THOMAS:
THERE HAVE been more than 20 minor traffic accidents on the Bailey bridge at the Yallahs fording, western St. Thomas, since it was erected in October 2002 in the wake of the flood rains.
Superintendent Clover Malcolm-Bogle, head of the St. Thomas Police Division, has expressed concern at the alarming number of accidents on the bridge. She said they were caused mainly by carelessness and also because the surface of the bridge is smooth and becomes slippery when wet.
Supt. Malcolm-Bogle, told The Gleaner that drivers were ignoring the stop signs and the advisory that the maximum laden weight that can be borne by the bridge is 30 tonnes. She said that while there has been no need to prosecute in the cases of the minor accidents, several persons are being prosecuted for ignoring the stop light at the bridge and the stipulated maximum laden weight, and more than one truck at a time were still using the bridge.
BE CAREFUL
She appealed to motorists to be careful and to look out for pedestrians who use the bridge. She said the 'robot' taxis were some of the guilty violators. She cited an incident in which she said that while she was waiting in a line of traffic for the light to change so she could go across the bridge, a robot taxi left the line, overtook the waiting vehicles and blocked the flow of traffic. The driver was charged with traffic offences.
The National Works Agency would soon be putting up 'slippery-when-wet' and 'proceed-with-caution' warning signs.
