Dangerous bend! Residents call for road markings along Gene Hill
By Kamal Haynes, BVI News Staff
Residents of Gene Hill and surrounding areas are calling for government to put the necessary road markings in place to guide motorists and ensure there is proper separation of traffic along the area’s thoroughfare.
Those calls follow the fatal accident between a fuel truck and a motor scooter on Gene Hill Tuesday afternoon. The scooter rider — a 27-year-old resident of Greenland, Tortola — died.
Residents who opted to speak to spoke to BVI News anonymously were vocal on how some vehicles — especially the larger types — traverse the Gene Hill area.
One male resident said vehicles often sway to the middle of the roadway while travelling through his community. He further said he believes the absence of line markings in the road is a contributing factor.
“On this Gene Hill, a lot of truckers come around the corner in the middle of the road. So if you have to pass a vehicle, you’re going to get hit. I live there and every day I have to be cussing people for why they coming around that corner so close to the inside,” he stated.
“I don’t know if it is the same situation [that caused Tuesday’s fatal accident], but I know what I experience as a resident of this hill. The truckers always in the middle of the road since there is no line to tell nobody which side is their side.”
Lack of line-markings an issue
While sharing his experience as a motorist travelling through the area, a resident from the neighbouring community of Baughers Bay expressed similar sentiments.
“That’s a regular thing. Once you come down this hill, you mostly be in the middle of the road. Most people be in the middle of the road coming down this hill,” the Baughers Bay resident said.
“Up here don’t got no lines in the road for a long time and that is an issue because, then, you don’t know what side of the road is yours and then sometimes some people does still come on you even though you think you know your side of the road,” he added.
They along with other bystanders to Tuesday’s crash said it was time for government to ensure that both Gene Hill and other roads in the territory are properly marked.
Copyright 2024 BVI News, Media Expressions Limited. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or distributed.
Every road here on this island needs lines but you also need proper roads too.(imagine putting lines on these pothole laden roads) But drivers and riders should always hold their sides. Keep left as much as possible. From the pic of the incident it’s clear to see the fuel truck was on its side.
Lines? People who know how to drive know how to hold their side. Complacency, willfulnes and lack of reprisal.
ALWAYS HOLD YOUR SIDE SAFELY.
Not sure what the cause of this particular accident was but I’m pretty sure the road there is actually wide in comparison to other areas.
Markings ought to be on every public road YES, but unfortunately markings won’t influence drivers who don’t seem to wanna share the road. I have been almost ran off the road many a time, all over this island, where there ARE lines.
Well well….so after many donkey years, its only now they want that done. So,how about the reckless bike riders?
We have road markers in VG and the bikes still drive in the opposite lane and pass people on blind curves. Please people, we need to take personal responsibility. This should be a wake up call to drive more safe. We do not need this to happen again. DON”T BLAME IT ON ROAD MARKERS.
Hold your side. A lot of drivers and scooter riders do not hold their side, especially those right hand vehicle drivers. I have come up Gene Hill while large trailers carrying high mac has come down the opposite side swaying on my side and they didn’t even blow their horn. Only because I hold my side to the most or there were times I could have collide with these large trucks. I don’t know what happened yesterday, because I was not there. May his soul rest in peace and may God comfort his parents and family.
Unfortunately the majority of people here are terrible drivers who drive without due care for other road users.
Road markings may help but an education and attitude change would work wonders.
Road markers have nothing to do with overtaking so what is this person talking about? Nobody should be overtaking anywhere in that area!
Markings serve no good if drivers don’t respect them. Solid yellow means not crossing but drivers do. On hills, curves or where there’s no visibility, Do Not Overtake. That hill is no place to Overtake ANY type of vehicle. It is Crazy adding left hand wheel on left side driving!!!
I went to town to pay Digicel and as I was slowly turning in with my right hand blinker on a motor bike roared by. It was extremely close to an accident. The bikers are risking all our health
VI roads are poorly designed ( elevator road) , constructed and maintained. For the most part, roads follow old horse, mule and donkey paths. Bull dozers or graders are used to smooth out the old paths and then either concrete or asphalt is laid down with poor base and other layers prep and poor drainage.
. At this juncture, the VI roads should have longer lifecycle, fewer sharp horizontal curves and steep vertical curves, properly marked road pavement, vertical signage, street lighting………etc. specifically, its road alignment should be straight and gradients flatter to the maximum extent practical. Horizontal curves, transition between to tangent lines, should be straighten out with longer sight distances; get rid of the suicidal horizontal (Paraquita Bay near HLSCC) curves. The taxpayers have spent millions on roads but the road quality is poor. And millions more needs to be spent to get the roads in a condition that they should have been decades ago. Safe, good roads are a quality of life issue.
If more of you were driving right hand vehicles, there might be less accidents. You won’t have to pull out in the road to overtake. We are not in America.
Praise the Lord….Right hand vehicles suits the BVI and NOT LEFT. WE ARE NOT IN AMERICA. FULL STOP. CONDOLENCES TO THIS GRIEVING FAMILY.
So explain how you overtake without pulling out in the road?
You see, y’all bent traffic rules for some, and this is why these things are the way they are!
If y’all were issuing tickets for driving violations of all kinds, then road way safety would have been made a priority among the motoring public!
There will continya to be violations, that leads to certain death in this country,roadway stripings, nothwithstanding, unless governments are interested in the enforcments of all traffic violations, regardless of ethnic backgrounds and last names!
We all can see what happened here. The truck was well on his side of the road. Perhaps if there was more enforcement of traffic regulations we wouldn’t see so much of this. RIP K’Shawn
No amount of markings on the road will deal with the issue of careless and reckless scooter riding. The stop lights are there but they don’t stop at stop lights either. You think they will obey a line in the middle of the road?
Many people assume the scooter riders are always wrong. I wasn’t there —but one thing I know is that it is not where the vehicle (or scooter) stop is where the accident always happen. Just a though….
If you can’t stay on your side of the road without lines to help you the you should not be driving.
That is one of the least dangerous bends on the island. We have many more bends that need attention before this one. Give me a break.
Will lack of road markings take the blame for recklessness? It is reckless for the some people who pushing this motorcycle agenda to continue to find all kinds of excuses rather motorclyes and their riders being a problem. Right now I support a complete ban until we can figure out how to safely implement it. The majority of fatal accidents we have had in BVI involve a motor cycle. This is the 3rd or 4th !!! for the year…that rate is too high!!! Too high!!! For this small island…BVI sons blood on the streets.
Who can tell me the only single thing that is more important than brakes while driving?
Answer coming up…
The scooter driver passed on a hill and a curve. He couldn’t see ahead and smashed head on into the truck. You all blaming the road, blaming the lack of lines. That’s not it. He took a chance and lost. It’s all on him. I’m sorry for the family but he is to blame for their sorrow.
Ok, the only single thing that is more important than brakes on the road is 1) always drive on your hand, 2)stay in your lane. 3) hold your side. You can save lives if you practice any of the above..