Justice Minister Anna Richardson has decided to strictly enforce regulations for heavy equipment operators. A quick view of these in today’s related story will inevitably confirm what must have already become clear to most: Applicable rules are often not obeyed.
An important one is a prohibition to be on the road every weekday from 6:30am to 8:30am and 12:00pm to 2:00pm, to limit congestion. This ban was relaxed after Hurricane Irma because of a need to quickly rebuild the country.
However, five years have since passed and it indeed seems high time to put the restriction back in place. This is now being done per December 1, which will hopefully alleviate traffic during peak hours going into the busy season.
Road safety is the main issue here. Heavy vehicles are not easy to stop or control due to their massive size and weight, making them potentially very dangerous objects especially at high speed. It’s best to avoid generalising, but too many of the drivers involved don’t appear sufficiently aware of that risk and the great responsibility it brings.
For example, this newspaper has argued for years that the velocity at which some trailers and container trucks go back and forth to the harbour at Pointe Blanche with thousands of cruise passengers on the sidewalk is an increasingly undesirable situation. Plans to divert these pedestrians via a boardwalk along the shore should be implemented before this is no longer just a terrible accident waiting to happen.
In addition, the environment is also a good reason to actively check for compliance among truckers. Debris can be seen falling off improperly loaded or uncovered vehicles practically daily and much of it ends up in nature.
This is completely unacceptable, even more when it regards contractors working for government. Repeat offenders, apart from a hefty fine, ought to be excluded from at least one round of bidding for such taxpayer-funded jobs.
Heavy equipment operators may not act like they own the street. It belongs to all of us.
