Bula
Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka yesterday met with his party executives, after arriving from the US, to discuss issues ahead of this week’s Parliament sitting.
His Deputy Prime Minister Manoa Kamikamica has assured Fijians that they were very focused on serving Fiji.
Mr Kamikamica reiterated there was no split in the party.
“And everything is good.” That’s the lead on Page 1 of The Sunday Times for November 19.
In the second story on the front page, locked up in 1878 because of a colour printing error, the two-pence Fiji stamp became a treasure overnight in New York city and was auctioned for $US94,400 equivalent to $F214,354.
According to a statement from the auctioneers, the two-pence Fiji stamp, auctioned last week was printed for the Fiji Post Office, 145 years ago and its blue colour made it rare and valuable.
Synopsis
It was one of those sunny days here in the Capital City of Suva. The weather was actually perfect for driving. Visibility was great. Princes Rd wasn’t too busy. As I approached the turnoff to head into Navurevure Rd., a vehicle heading towards Tamavua Village crossed the centre-line marking and headed straight towards my vehicle at a steady speed. I took evasive action and barely avoided a major accident. They were important seconds, requiring presence of mind to press on the accelerator pedal and swerving left to avoid a head on crash.
Cutting a long story short, I followed the vehicle to Nabua where the driver claimed she had fallen asleep behind the wheel, at around 2pm on a Monday! I will not assume what she may have been doing to lose concentration and almost cause an accident. We did reflect on the importance of life, and the importance of drivers concentrating on driving, on the road, and on their surroundings because lives could depend on that. We reflected on how much life means to some people, and how many families depended on their loved ones, and hoped they were safe and alive on our roads.
The question though is how do we allow such drivers to stay focused? What do we have to do to ensure their total concentration is on the road and on vehicles and other road users?
This is where we must all unite to raise the importance of road safety. The revelation that we have had 72 fatalities so far compared to 38 for the same period last year is quite frightening.
Land Transport Authority board chairman Inosi Kuridrani now says they have plans to tighten internal controls and audits on the issuing of drivers’ licences and driving schools.
Mr Kuridrani is right when he said some drivers ignore road safety rules and engage in bad driving habits at the expense of precious lives.
So can we look to the LTA to tighten its processes at the base, before drivers are authorised to drive a vehicle?
Drivers who have no thought for the lives of other road users, and ignore common sense, do not deserve to be behind the wheel at all.
They clearly do not appreciate that every road user obviously has a plan to arrive safely at his or her destination.
There are many vehicles now on our roads. The question is how many of the drivers behind those wheels are appreciative of life.
How many use common sense daily, and are well versed with defensive driving?
Again, we look up to the powers that be to intensify their efforts to bring down the death toll.
But we also have a role to play. In fact we have the greater role to play.
Like we have always said, that means planning our journey, keeping our vehicles in top shape, getting it serviced on time, checking tyres, our brake system, getting enough rest, and staying alert when driving. It also means having road courtesy and common sense when encountering situations that may involve a reversing vehicle or one attempting to get back into the traffic lane. Cut out chats on your mobile phones or texting while driving. Signal any turn you intend to make while driving. Constantly check your rear vision mirror to see traffic movement behind you.
We are approaching the festive season. We need to work together! Let’s focus on safety!
