WATCH: Motorist blames government, CHEC for accident on South Coastal Highway
ST THOMAS, Jamaica— A motorist is blaming the lack of proper signage and adequate light on a section of the St Thomas leg of the South Coastal Highway, which he believes led to an accident in the area on Sunday.
Claudius Halliman said around 8:00pm he was driving his motor car in the vicinity of Three Finger Jack when he collided with a median. There were no reports of injury.
He said the accident occurred when he was attempting to change over, but reacted late as he missed the marker to do so since a black tyre was used to warn motorists of the turn off on the roadway.
“Me a drive a come in but true the road condition me reach at the turn off on the road and me just buck the island; me lick up the front of my vehicle and me turn cross the roadway and run the bush,”Halliman said.
“You can’t use a black rubber tyre to make sign on the road, that is unfair. In the darkness how me can see a black rubber tyre?” the driver questioned.
“We a come on the straight all the way good-good so by the time me see the tyre and should switch over me touch the island. The police man come and see the accident and move the sign put it in the road and something come and hit the the sign,” Halliman recounted.
Halliman, whose motor vehicle airbags were deployed in the accident, is blaming the government and China Harbour Engineering Company Limited (CHEC) for not putting the appropriate signage and lighting in place.
“At least a street light across there would bright up the area that you can see that something change over. Me think the blame is on them because them should do much better. You coming round a corner and buck right in the darkness and the straight road, and have to turn off right here. Me think is their fault why me crash my vehicle,” an irate Halliman said.
“The chiney them and the government them need fi sort out them thing here. They can’t leave people coming in like that. At least if even the cone was here where the policeman put it I would see that there is a changeover. No cone, no sign of change over; just some black tyres. So, NWA (National Works Agency) need to come and fix this,” Halliman added.
Last month, Member of Parliament for St Thomas Eastern Dr Michelle Charles called for the immediate replacement of the sub-contractors and engineers employed on the Government’s Southern Coastal Highway Improvement Project (SCHIP).
Dr Charles said the progress has been slow and… “extremely uncomfortable and downright disrespectful to the people of St Thomas Eastern”.
READ: St Thomas MP loses patience with slow pace of road works
Earlier this year, the date for the completion of the eastern leg of the South Coastal Highway Improvement Project was moved to August from the April date which was announced by Prime Minister Andrew Holness while making his contribution to the 2023/2024 Budget Debate in the House of Representative.
READ: WATCH: Completion date of eastern leg of south coast highway postponed to August