At least a dozen accidents linked to gravel on New St Thomas highway

At least a dozen car accidents have been reported along the recently completed St Thomas highway over the last month, as police say motorists continue to lose control of their vehicles due to gravel and other sediments spilled from haulage trucks moving along the highway.

The issue has caused emergency workers to warn unsuspecting motorists, as they demand stricter penalties for disobedient truckers operating in the parish.

To the naked eye, the amount of spilled aggregate on the main road from the Morant Bay roundabout in St Thomas to Bull Bay in St Andrew, could fill at least half a truckload, as in some cases loads of gravel and sand are scattered on sections of the roadway seemingly making it more difficult to navigate by the often overloaded trucks, police have theorised.

Last week, at least one motor vehicle was seen disabled on a section of the roadway near to the Grants Pen community in St Thomas. Cops confirmed last week that it was among the vehicles which recently spun out due to sand on the road, and slammed repeatedly into the roadway's median and embankment.

Last week, it appeared totalled, with expelled airbags, shredded tires and extensive body damage. Police say that like in many cases there are no serious injuries, and many of the accidents are not reported to the police or to the motorists' insurance companies.

The reality is also a headache for firefighters in the parish, who, in addition to repeatedly responding to the fires at the Church Corner Waste Disposal Site near Morant Bay, must also respond to accidents and clean up the aggregate from the highway.

"Daily we have accidents out there, but what happens is that most of the incidents are minor damage only. So a lot of people don't even bother to come and tell the police that "hey me skid in gravel". So that is why we don't have the raw data. But based on observation it is clear that it is the gravel that caused the accident, and the owner of that car that you see on the road was one victim," said one policeman in Morant Bay.

A policeman in Yallahs explained that from Albion Community into 14 Mile and 10 Mile Bull Bay can be a nightmare for motorists, even as cops try their hardest to clamp down on violating truck drivers.

"We try our best, you know. But sometimes they come out in the nights when they know that by certain times we would have come off the road. So most of the time when the overloading and the spillage are going [on] we are not on the road," said the senior traffic cop. "But rest assured we are going after them and they will be prosecuted."

- Corey Robinson

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