The sight is all too familiar in the Virgin Islands: an overloaded truck roaring down the road with debris flying out the back.
Garbage haulers are prime offenders, but some drivers of vehicles large and small do the same at times. Many of them simply litter the road with unsightly household rubbish when it slides off their car on their way to a dumpster. Others carry unsecured machines, boulders or similar material that could cause a catastrophe if it fell out.
Such negligence needs to stop before someone gets killed.
Last week the Ministry of Communications and Works issued a warning urging drivers to secure their loads. This notice was a positive step, but we doubt that many offenders will read it and change their ways — especially since it did not detail the consequences of violations.
We hope, then, that substantive action will follow.
For starters, the police should crack down on any driver who carries an unsecured load. To do so, they need only park at the edge of Road Town for a day. If the officers in charge were half as zealous as those who routinely fine drivers for seat belt offences, we would guess that they would hand out several tickets within a few hours.
Police and other government agencies, such as the CW Ministry, should also work together to educate drivers about traffic laws and the consequences of breaking them.
Legislators should review the matter as well, ensuring that there are appropriate penalties in place to deter offences.
Last but not least are the truckers themselves. So that the public can assist in ensuring that drivers follow the law, trucking companies should paint their phone numbers prominently on each vehicle so that complaints can be reported in real time. Currently, few trucks are readily identifiable, and some don’t even carry a licence plate — another ticketable offence that police need to stop.
Even if truckers are too callous to care about other drivers, they should consider their own well-being: If their unsecured load causes a death they could easily find themselves facing manslaughter charges.
The territory’s steep and winding roads, which are increasingly busy, are dangerous enough without additional hazards caused by inexcusable negligence.
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