Dear Editor,
Can we please take a moment to reflect on the tragic accidents that occur in the past months? #Brikama Nyambai forest: A truck collided with a passenger car. At least three people dead.
#Kabakor Village, Foni Bintang Karanai: A Mercedes Benz intruded into a container truck: Three dead others seriously injured.
#Somita, Foni Berefet: A truck ran over a police officer resulting to his dead.
#Kafuta Forest 26/07/2017: A pickup truck hit a truck loaded with Timber resulting to the dead of a man and his wife.
#Brikama Castle 26/07/2017: A truck hit a taxi near the castle petrol station.
And many more….
If this was because of a crime, the streets would have been infested with patrol teams trying to apprehend culprits and put this madness to an end. A truck park on the road without any reflectors installed that results to collision and deads cannot be called an accident. I called it “intend to murder”. A speeding truck approaching a police station just to see a driver got his head out off the window screaming “AMUT BRAKE”!!! Having the police officers running to safety is “intend to murder” since he fail to stop as soon as he can. A truck loaded with timbers without a back light is intending to commit murder. A car with one head light on speeding in the night is intending to commit murder since it only seems to be a motorbike. The point is, so long we see accidents as natural, more people will continue to die.
We live in a country where thieves appear in the newspapers daily on trials but hardly do we read of drivers being charged with murder or manslaughter.
What is the interior ministry and the police doing about this? If a car can travel from Kalagi to Brikama with no back light in the night, then I am tempted to say the police are not doing their job. Stop taking bribes and do your work! In fact, I dare say the corruption in Gambia is not only the officers but the people. It is us who when an officer stops our driver on the highway for neglecting traffic rules jump out appealing to them to release the car. We sometimes call them names, accuse them of doing this because they want money.
To the #interior minister, #IGP and #Gambians in general, let us not assume noting is happening. The lives you save, can be your own.
Entering a car now to work is as if you are going to a battle field. You only hope that you come back safe.
