After all the talk about traffic congestion, road safety, and common sense on our roads, it’s good to know that a joint operation involving the police and the Land Transport Authority is set to get underway.
It’s definitely going to inch out a sense of appreciation in many quarters. We know that.
A lot of people are just fed up with the bad drivers on our roads. And we say, special attention should be focused on Lautoka and Nadi.
We have some of the most impatient drivers in these two urban centres. In fact, it’s a wonder there has never been a brawl in Lautoka in the afternoon traffic. It can get chaotic as travellers try to make their way out of the city centre.
Tempers flare, horns blare, and frustration rises. Impatience is high, and the absence of streetlights in some areas only compounds the danger.
The same can be said for Nadi, especially along the back road, where speeding, risky overtaking and aggressive manoeuvres have become all too common. It only takes one reckless decision to change lives forever.
So we should all be looking forward to a crackdown on traffic offences from March through to April following the signing of a Joint Enforcement Operation Order between the LTA and police.
Land Transport Authority chief executive officer Irimaia Rokosawa says the operation is intended to clamp down on dangerous driving during one of the busiest periods on our roads.
This season coincides with school sporting competitions, national events and a rise in inter-island and inter-city travel. The first stage, running from March 1 to 31, will target illegal Public Service Vehicles and ensure buses comply with e-ticketing requirements. The second phase, from April 1 to 30, will see intensified enforcement on highways across all divisions.
Mr Rokosawa has made it clear that the goal is to cut down crashes, injuries, deaths and traffic violations while building a culture where everyone accepts responsibility for road safety. He has also voiced concern about behaviour, he says, has no place on our roads.
The authorities continue to observe troubling conduct among some public service vehicle operators and drivers. Overloaded buses, unsafe carriage practices, motorists attempting to cross flooded waters, speeding, fatigue-related incidents, dangerous overtaking and loss of vehicle control are major issues. These actions, he warns, put innocent lives at risk and impacts public trust in the safety of our transport system.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Operations Kasiano Vusonilawe has raised the importance of teamwork and vigilance among enforcement officers, stressing that integrity must remain at the heart of the operation.
The two agencies have indicated that the operation will involve compliance checks on drivers, vehicles and passenger safety.
We talk about road safety every year. We talk about accidents and how to avoid them, yet we continue to record crashes and fatalities year after year.
Then we fall silent until the next accident happens, or until another family mourns a loved one lost on our roads.
And we keep saying this: road accidents happen because we allow them. Bad, rude and impatient driving does not happen in isolation. It happens because we excuse it. Because we look the other way. Because we convince ourselves that a little speeding, one risky overtake, or squeezing through a tight gap won’t hurt. It will!
We need common sense back on our roads. We need courtesy in place of aggression, and we need patience over ego.
Let’s pull out all stops and fix this.
