Every day I become more convinced that the more things change, the more they remain the same.
Political meetings and conferences are synonymous with passionate supporters travelling in motorcades throughout the length and breadth of Jamaica. The manner in which these motorcades travel on the roads has left me in a state of bewilderment.
Recently, I was driving through the Junction, St Mary, area on my way to the north coast and I had the unfortunate experience of encountering a convoy of Comrades en route to their 76th Annual Conference in Kingston. It was outrageous to see the speed at which some of these vehicles were travelling considering the condition of the roads in the Junction corridor. To make matters worse, some supporters were, as usual, hanging out of the vehicles, sitting on bus window ledges and waving flags.
Let's face it, how many more lives will be lost unnecessarily before something is done to curtail this reckless practice? Is it worth it? What is being done by the leadership of the political parties and the police in ensuring that they adhere to the road code?
I don't think enough is being done to address the matter. If they don't value and consider their lives important, then, as a people, we are left in a very sad state of affairs. While I endorse supporters expressing their excitement for their respective parties, they cannot and should not put the safety of other road users at risk. The fact is there have been previous incidents in which people have died or have suffered serious injury as a result of falling from vehicles involved in motorcades. We can and we must avoid the avoidable and let good sense prevail. All that is required is for us to stop, think and act logically. Now is not the time to skirt the issue, but to use this opportunity ahead of other conferences, meetings and the impending local government elections next year to encourage party supporters not to flirt with danger.
A Smith
ceoandre@aol.com
Political party convoys flirting with danger
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Political meetings and conferences are synonymous with passionate supporters travelling in motorcades throughout the length and breadth of Jamaica. The manner in which these motorcades travel on the roads has left me in a state of bewilderment.
Recently, I was driving through the Junction, St Mary, area on my way to the north coast and I had the unfortunate experience of encountering a convoy of Comrades en route to their 76th Annual Conference in Kingston. It was outrageous to see the speed at which some of these vehicles were travelling considering the condition of the roads in the Junction corridor. To make matters worse, some supporters were, as usual, hanging out of the vehicles, sitting on bus window ledges and waving flags.
Let's face it, how many more lives will be lost unnecessarily before something is done to curtail this reckless practice? Is it worth it? What is being done by the leadership of the political parties and the police in ensuring that they adhere to the road code?
I don't think enough is being done to address the matter. If they don't value and consider their lives important, then, as a people, we are left in a very sad state of affairs. While I endorse supporters expressing their excitement for their respective parties, they cannot and should not put the safety of other road users at risk. The fact is there have been previous incidents in which people have died or have suffered serious injury as a result of falling from vehicles involved in motorcades. We can and we must avoid the avoidable and let good sense prevail. All that is required is for us to stop, think and act logically. Now is not the time to skirt the issue, but to use this opportunity ahead of other conferences, meetings and the impending local government elections next year to encourage party supporters not to flirt with danger.
A Smith
ceoandre@aol.com
Political party convoys flirting with danger
-->