By Shermain Bique-Charles
Motorists across the country are being urged to cut out the illegal and dangerous practice of running red lights late at night in order to avoid any unwanted collisions and fatalities.
This message, from the Head of the Police Traffic Department, Superintendent Elson Quammie, comes on the heels of a fatal crash at the intersection of American and Factory roads – in the vicinity of Harney Motors – early Sunday morning.
A pickup truck and a motorcycle were involved in the crash which claimed the life of a Dominican national, 30-year-old motorcycle driver Bram Sanderson — and left the pillion rider, also a Dominican in critical condition at the hospital.
Quammie said that if the practice isn’t cut out urgently, the country could start seeing more incidents like this one.
“It is very unfortunate that this thing has happened. My main concern is that people are not stopping at the red light after midnight, and the accident happened as a result of that. People are also not paying attention to the red light, and this will continue,” Quammie said
The Superintendent of Police explained that having observed multiple incidents of traffic violations in the past, the police used to patrol late at night to rein in the wayward drivers, which yielded much success.
He told our newsroom that these late-night patrols may have to be revisited if the situation gets out of hand.
“We saw the trend, and we were trying to impose it. We used to lurk around the service stations and arrested many people for running the red light,” he said
Quammie also dismissed the notion that drivers refuse to stop at traffic lights late at night due to concerns about falling victim to crimes like carjacking or robbery.
The traffic boss insists those concerns should not necessarily apply to Antigua and Barbuda, despite being justifiable in other territories.
According to reports, Sanderson and his compatriot, Daniel Jno Baptiste, were travelling east on a motorcycle when a pickup truck travelling south collided with the pair near the intersection.
The men were transported to the hospital soon after, while the truck driver was said to have avoided any serious injuries.
