Concerned parents call for tolerance on the road

With the increasing volume of cars on the country's roads every year, the level of traffic undoubtedly reaches gridlock at certain times of the day in certain areas, RTB reported yesterday. As everyone can attest to, this is especially true around schools early in the morning, during the lunch hour and later in the afternoon. Motorists must therefore be more careful and tolerant when driving around these areas.

This has become a regular scene at every major junction at every school in the country, where the increasing number of cars, the weather, the gridlock and human behaviour are all factors that can lead to potential hazards that are waiting to happen and that could arise from just one single careless mistake. Out of the 127 schools in the Brunei-Muara District that include government and private nurseries, primary schools and secondary schools, there are over 70,000 students studying at these schools.

According to statistics from the Land Transport Department, as of December last year, there were a total of 244,350 registered vehicles on the roads. With an average increase of at least a thousand vehicles every month, one can therefore agree that the number of cars increases with each passing month. Yet, despite all the concerns and care that are lavished towards the welfare and protection of our children, the reality is that at certain school areas, children are still seen dangerously crossing the roads, with fast-flowing traffic, just to get to their waiting transportation on the other side. Children, especially young ones, need to be protected and supervised at all times because they do not have the capacity or knowledge to protect themselves. The lack of adequate safety crossings at most schools could result in schoolchildren crossing the roads precariously. But this is a dangerous reason, especially when facing fast oncoming traffic.

At some schools, traffic police are deployed to make some order out of the gridlock and they do provide some relief. But even with the police presence, some motorists still turn a blind eye to their instructions. But the message from a majority of concerned parents is a call for more patience and tolerance.

Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin