By Robertson S. Henry
KINGSTOWN, St Vincent — Member of parliament for West Kingstown recently called on the traffic control authorities to take action against the parking of vehicles on the sides of the major roads in the country, following an accident which left him nursing neck injuries.
The accident took place on Thursday, January 30, 2020, on the Vigie Highway, which forced Daniel Cummings to miss the 2020 budget presentation by finance minister Camillo Gonsalves on Monday, February 03, 2020.
However, addressing parliament on the 2020 budget debate, Cummings said a parked vehicle contributed to the accident in which he was involved.
“This accident was occasioned partly by the presence of a parked vehicle on the highway, with one vehicle stopping in front of me, forcing me to stop, and two vehicles coming behind, and both of them, in the process, slamming into the rear of my vehicle,” Cummings told parliament.
“Two vehicles slammed into the rear of my vehicle and gave me a severe whiplash, among other things,” said Cummings wearing a medical collar at the time. “I have been seeking medical advice and I have taken steps in accordance with the doctor’s requirements,” he said.
Cummings further stated: “I think, Mr Speaker, that with the influx of the very many vehicles on the already-stressed and pothole-filled roads, it is high time that some action be taken to prevent the parking of vehicles on public highways,” Cummings pointed out.
He made special mention of the roadway between Buccament Bay and Layou, where a number of vehicles are parked along the side of the road, and used the opportunity to raise the issue of vehicles being parked on the side of the main highways in St Vincent and the Grenadines.
“There is a growing tendency for people to park their vehicles; I don’t believe this obtains in any regular society. It is unheard of that you can park for hours and sometimes days on the highway,” Cummings lamented.
“I am appalled, sometimes in the evening to be driving on that road and almost the entire section of the road, there are vehicles parked. I caution those responsible for traffic and transportation to look urgently at preventing fatalities on our roads.”
