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These two vehicles were invloved in an accident at the Cumuto Intersection of the Churchill Roosevelt Highway, Wallerfield, in February. FILE PHOTO/ROGER JACOB –
PEOPLE mourning the loss of a loved one to a vehicular accident find comfort with the thought that it was all part of God’s plan. However, Arrive Alive head Sharon Inglefield has dismissed this notion, arguing that poor choices are to blame.
In an interview with Newsday on August 26, Inglefield argued the lives lost could have been prevented.
“It’s not God’s will, because it is something that is preventable. It’s something that’s avoidable. And for all those people who think it’s God’s will (or) it’s fate, it certainly is not.
“It is our choice. It is the wrong choices we’re making.
“Bad choices that we’re making that are causing these fatalities, that are causing these serious injuries and these serious crashes.”
There have been at least 70 road fatalities so far in 2024. Inglefield believes people may not be heeding repeated advice for safe driving practices because they think it would not happen to them.
“I could only assume the messages are not being heeded because we all think we’re invincible. Maybe we all think we are superwomen and supermen. That we would not ever suffer loss or will not ever be killed.
“I want to tell you from my personal experience: when it hits you, it hits you hard.”
In a bid to get people to realise the severity of the situation, Inglefield said identifying the body of a loved one who died in an accident was traumatic.
“God forbid anyone should lose the life of a child, of a husband, of a wife, of siblings, mothers and fathers in this violent way…when you go to see the body, whether it is in the road or the mortuary, it’s a violent death. It’s a violent way to die. We are not invincible”
An unidentified man became the latest road fatality when he was struck by a car while attempting to cross the Churchill Roosevelt Highway on Monday morning.
Around 8.35 am, police responded to reports of an accident involving a black Audi which struck a man who was trying to cross from the southern to the northern side of the highway.
His injuries were fatal and he died at the scene.
Barataria Police were unable to determine the man’s identity.
Police road safety project co-ordinator Sgt Brent Batson said pedestrians trying to cross the highway were a major contributor to road risk.
With the road fatality count for 2024 at 72 compared to 64 for the same period last year, Batson pointed to the dangers it creates.
“Pedestrians have accounted for 32 of those deaths (44 per cent), with 14 of the pedestrian deaths occurring on a highway.”
He said speeding was the other major issue contributing to deaths on the roads, with 58 speeding tickets issued on August 25 to drivers who exceeded the speed limit.
“Drivers seem to quickly forget the dangerous consequences associated with excessive speed even after we continue to see the carnage involved with drivers who lose control of their vehicles all over social media.
“Road users need to exercise greater care, caution and responsibility as we continue to try to change the culture of often reckless and irresponsible behaviours that unfortunately result in tragic, yet preventable loss of life on the roads.”
One such example happened on August 20 when Kaylee Poonan, 17, of Peterloo Street, Friendship Village, who was in the front passenger seat of a car driven by her 19-year-old boyfriend, died after he allegedly lost control and slammed into a light pole on the Sir Solomon Hochoy Highway.
Commenting on this, Inglefield said, personally, she would not let her teenage child ride in a vehicle without first assessing how the person drove.
“There are many young people who believe they’re invincible and, as parents, we want to make sure we’re allowing our children to go out with responsible drivers.”
However, she said Arrive Alive’s statistics showed young people were not the ones dying in road accidents.
“The majority of drivers that are dying, that are pedestrians, that are even passengers…are not the youth. They are older, supposedly more mature, supposedly more responsible persons.”
According to Arrive Alive’s website, half of all road deaths in 2023 were between ages 25 and 44. (With reporting by Gregory McBurnie.)
