THE EDITOR, Sir:
I RECENTLY heard someone comment that 'Common sense no common again'. Every day I move through this country of ours, it becomes more and more apparent that maybe they are right. On a busy highway, rows of traffic build up behind a man who is heatedly yelling into a cellular phone which he holds in one hand while trying his hardest to manoeuvre the vehicle with the other. Distracted by the conversation and the lack of appendages, he is moving at 20 kmph, causing a gridlock.
The highway he is blocking, however, is another story. The freshly-paved surface has recently been dug up in several areas to allow for drainage pipes and trenches to be installed while the telecommunication and electricity poles, which were replaced last year, are now being uprooted to allow for the widening of the road. Was this work not planned at all?
One only has to pick up a copy of a daily newspaper to prove the 'common sense' theory right again. The authorities are so concerned with the health dangers of cigarette smoking that they are willing to impose taxes on the product which may destroy an industry which employs thousands in Jamaica. Yet they are not at all bothered about embracing laws that will keep us safer on the roads. Jamaica's roads are one of her biggest reapers of human life. With more use of common sense, we could address this problem fairly quickly and very effectively. With the introduction of the seat belt law, there was a sigh of relief from commuters who saw the risks as a major concern but the half-baked attitude of lawmakers will not work in this situation at all.
In addition, hands-free cellular devices must be made compulsory for use when driving. How ridiculous is it to see pedestrians everywhere walking around with the earpieces fixed to their faces and motorists are causing accidents all over the island? It really all just boils down to whether you have common sense or not, doesn't it?
I am, etc.,
D.E.C.,
Ocho Rios, St. Ann
Via Go-Jamaica
