THE EDITOR, Sir:
THE SPECTACLE of three caskets lying in the packed auditorium of Vere Technical High School, bearing the remains of
valuable Jamaicans whose lives were snuffed out because of the wanton carelessness that pervades our roads, has caused me to wonder, when will we ever learn?
I think everyone will agree that some of the most careless and indisciplined drivers are those that operate public passenger vehicles. Of these groups, those who transport children, especially at the secondary school level, are by far the worst.
At first, the main problem they presented was the careless, dangerous and reckless driving, but as time passed, their acts have grown to include making their vehicles mobile night clubs with audio and video materials that are definitely not suitable for even polite adults.
It is high time for us to accept that our children learn from formal and informal sources and the public transportation system is one of the most powerful sources of negative training that we allow our children to be exposed to.
When the drivers are allowed to blatantly ignore all that depicts order and the laws of the road and our children recognise that there is no sanction, they too become perpetrators of these illegal actions.
The Child Care and Protection Act of 2003 is said to be geared specifically towards the protection of our children and I hope that with that in mind, much focused attention will be placed on the drivers and operators of public passenger vehicles.
I am, etc.,
NEILSON ANDERSON
May Pen, Clarendon
