More than 600 traffic accidents in first nine months

PHILIPSBURG – During the first nine months of this year there were more than 600 recorded traffic accidents, it appears from a press release issued by the communications department of the police force. The A.T. Illidge Road tops a list of twelve roads were most accidents happened. The roundabout at Indigo Bay is listed as the most dangerous intersection.

There were 59 traffic accidents on the A.T. Illidge Road, representing 14.9 percent of the 396 accidents that took place on eleven different roads. Second on the list is the Walter Nisbet Road (53 accidents, 13.4 percent), followed by the A.J.C. Brouwers Road (49 or 12.4 percent), Welfare Road (47 – 11.9 percent) and Sucker Garden Road (40 – 10.1 percent).

The press release lists the Brouwers Road three times as the most dangerous intersection: the roundabout at Indigo Bay, Harold Jack and the crossing. The fourth most dangerous intersection is that of the A.T. Illidge Road and the Middle Region Road, followed by the crossing of the Billy Folly Road and the Welfare Road and the roundabout at the former Eddie’s auto supply.

The numbers show that St. Maarten averages more than two traffic accidents per day. “Statistics show that many of the common causes of collisions are preventable,” the acting head of the communications department, Inspector Josepha, writes in the press statement.

Being distracted while driving, speeding, reckless driving, traffic law violations (like drunk driving) and impaired skills like fatigue and physical disabilities all have contributed in one way or another to a traffic accident.

Drivers are at times distracted because they are using a cell phone or while they are eating or drinking behind the wheel. Speeding is the second most common cause of accidents; these accidents are also a major cause of serious or fatal injuries.

The “classic signs of reckless driving” like changing lanes without looking, hopping of scooters and motorbikes and ignoring road signs are also frequently returning causes of traffic accidents.

The press statement serves as a warning to all road users: “A lot of accidents can be avoided if everyone drove not only for themselves but also for the cars around them. Take heed: the roadways are not your own; avoid unnecessary collisions,” Inspector Josepha writes at the conclusion of his press release.

###

Related links:
You can read the entire press release in full online here on News.sx