SAVANNA-LA-MAR, West moreland — Local officials and the police are worried that lives will be lost as motorists travelling from opposite directions refuse to yield at a heavily trafficked intersection called Dump in Westmoreland. However, the National Works Agency (NWA) has been resisting their requests, convinced that the stop bars already in place are enough.

They do not appear to be.

During a visit to the area, the Jamaica Observer team observed a loaded truck — travelling from the direction of Ferris heading towards Whithorn — speeding through the intersection without stopping or slowing. Several other vehicles, from both directions, were seen doing the same thing.

Part of the problem is residents’ disagreement about which road is the major one, and which is the one from which traffic should yield.

“The main road run from Ferris, not from Petersfield,” public passenger vehicle driver Robert Anderson told the
Observer. “So anybody a come from Petersfield fi stop, cause dat a di [minor] road.”

Anne McFarlane, who for many years has been a passenger in vehicles that made their way along the route, disagrees with him. She recalls that the old bus route went along Petersfield main road so she thinks traffic coming from that direction has the right of way.

People’s National Party (PNP) caretaker for Cornwall Mountain Division, Abigail Malcolm, believes that putting in stop signs is the easiest solution.

“The recent upgrade of our road is a welcome development,” she said. “But I’m alarmed that the necessary stop signs were not put back in place. This oversight puts our lives at risk. Without these signs our safety is compromised, and accidents can happen. I’m appealing to the relevant authorities to install the necessary stop signs as soon as possible. I urge the authorities to take immediate action to ensure our safety. We can’t wait until someone loses their life or is seriously injured. We need to act now. Let’s work together to prevent accidents and ensure our community remains safe. Install the stop signs now and save lives!”

On September 30 there was a minor mishap involving a motor vehicle and a motorcycle, because no one stopped. In late August one motorist had to pull off the road and wait for his nerves to settle after avoiding what he said would certainly have been a nasty accident.

“I was coming from Whithorn and stopped at the intersection, as I was going to make a right to turn onto the Petersfield main road,” Dane Williams told the Observer. “A vehicle was coming from the Ferris side but I was already at the intersection and started turning before he arrived at the intersection. You waah know say di vehicle nuh stop and was barrelling straight into me. Mi not even sure him see me. But by di skin a mi teeth we never collide!”

Mayor of Savanna-la Mar Danree Delancy is also concerned.

“I travel that route almost every day, and it is troubling for me,” he told the Observer. “Stop signs are needed. No one knows who has the right of way and so no one stops. Something serious will happen one day.”

However, community relations officer for the National Works Agency Janel Ricketts disagrees. She said stop signs are not necessary because there are bars in the road that indicate who should stop.

“The person coming from Whithorn will have the right of way to go straight,” she explained. “However, there is a stop bar for the vehicle turning onto the Petersfield main road, there is a stop bar for the vehicle coming from Ferris, and a stop bar for the vehicle coming from Petersfield. Everyone except the person coming off the hill and going straight [from Whithorn to Ferris] should yield.”

However, according to head of the Westmoreland police’s traffic department, Sergeant Roy Thompson, the law requires both a stop bar and a stop sign. He said they complement each other as the sign tells the motorist to stop and the bar tells them exactly where to stop.

“Many motorists don’t understand what the stop bar means,” he told the Observer. “When they see the stop sign, they know that they are supposed to stop. When they see the stop bar, [many of them] just drive across. I have spoken to the mayor already, because something serious is going to happen there. Nobody obeys the bar because they don’t understand; unless the sign is there, they will not stop. We need the sign,” said the cop.

He also wants a stop sign and bar installed at the intersection of Seaton and Dalling streets where many motorists heading towards Negril turn right from Seaton without stopping.

“The same concern we have for the Dump intersection is same for this one,” Thompson stated. “It is just there waiting for something serious to happen.”

Though he cannot recall any major mishaps at the Seaton Street intersection since he has been head of traffic for the parish police, he says there have been close calls and minor crashes. According to Thompson a motorcycle and a truck were involved in a fatal accident at the Dump intersection about two years ago.

Since the start of the year there have been 34 fatal crashes in Westmoreland, six less than the comparable period for last year.