TRANSPORT MINISTRY CAUSED AZIZAH’S DEATH

AZIZAH Mohammed would likely have been alive today if the Ministry of Works and Transport had repaired or replaced the cable barrier in the median along the Solomon Hochoy Highway.

Ms. Mohammed died after a southbound motorist crossed the roadway median in the Gasparillo area and crashed into her vehicle, which was headed north.

The 38-year-old Ms. Mohammed died at the scene of the collusion.

There was no cable barrier between both lanes.

She is the latest fatality along the highway caused by out-of-control speeding vehicles crossing over to the other lane.

 Cable barriers have not been maintained along the Solomon Hochoy Highway despite their proven effective impact absorption.

International auto safety experts have confirmed that barriers are valuable high-tension barricades that reduce the effect of an impact without severing the vehicle.

Cable barriers are endorsed and utilised by traffic authorities in the United States and other developed countries.

But in Trinidad and Tobago, they have generally been discarded, and Minister Rohan Sinanan recently said they will be replaced with guard rails.

Sinanan claimed that maintaining cable barriers “pose a significant challenge” and was costly.

He said the Government is focusing on “road user safety.”

He acknowledged that there are large areas of the highway without barriers.

But he did not admit that the broken facility may have resulted from the impact of vehicles in accidents.

Sinanan said there is a three-year programme to install guard rails, with a focus on “hotspots” where there are frequent accidents.

But the minister’s extended timeframe will not save Ms. Mohammed’s life and that of other highway accident victims.

Relatives and friends remember Ms. Mohammed as a caring person, devoted to her loved ones and society.