As a resident of the area I have witnessed many accidents at the intersection of the St. Helena Bypass Road and Caroni South Bank Road. Some drivers do not wait for the green light to proceed west to Kelly / Caroni; they instead exit on the merging lane to go east to St Helena and then make a dangerous U turn in an attempt to go west. This is the norm , especially during the morning traffic.
On my way to work on Monday morning while proceeding east, I saw a black Navarra van angling to make that illegal U turn. I tried to accelerate to get out of his way because at the speed he was travelling, there was no way he could stop. He still hit the back side of my car and did not stop. I pulled aside and viewed the damage to my car. He was now in traffic with about six cars behind him.
I opted to return to my vehicle, rather than risk a confrontation with a driver that would make an illegal turn and a hit and run accident. I have heard of, and seen too many cases of violence on the road. Many people have cutlasses and other weapons in their vehicles and I did not wish to be chopped or shot. The foolish thing is that he was speeding to get to obvious, visible, stand-still traffic 50 meters ahead and endangering the lives of innocent motorists.
There are cameras at the traffic lights; whether they work or not is another matter. I offer the following suggestions to discourage this dangerous drive. No U turn sign at the intersection.....although I know it will be ignored. Delineator posts along the merging east lane to physically block the illegal west turn.
A change in the timer on the traffic lights. At present only about seven cars can turn west before the light changes to red.
I am no traffic expert, so I appeal to the relevant authorities to take some action to deter this dangerous practice that puts lives at risk. There has been numerous accidents,let us not wait until there is a fatality. To law abiding drivers, beware, and try to drive defensively, it may save your life.
Elizabeth Maharaj
Caroni