McMaster begs for caution on bad roads

At least one government official is urging motorists to exercise extreme caution while driving, adding that the territory’s road network, in some areas, is in no condition to accommodate motorists driving even at the legal speed limit.

Some areas have been rendered near impassable after Hurricane Irma and Maria unleashed flood waters on the territory.

“There are some areas where, even though the speed limit would be 30 miles per hour, the roads are so damaged that even driving at those rates will be hazardous to the driver. The roads are not in a condition to even drive in what I would consider the legal speed limit,” said Anthony McMaster who is the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Communications and Works.

He urged motorists to leave out early in order to avoid undue rush to get to their destination.

“I would even advise, if you have to be in town for 8 o’clock, leave home earlier than normal so that you would either get through before the traffic is backed up, or even if you end up in traffic, you have sufficient time so that you are not in a hurry. So you can drive slow and with caution to get you from point A to point B.”

Temporary Shield

Meanwhile, the permanent secretary advised that as a temporary shield from the elements, residents should choose to use clear plastic bags on their vehicles instead of the darker ones.

“We would recommend clear plastic to help protect the vehicle, the driver, and passengers from the elements, as opposed to using any dark plastic or anything that would obscure your vision.”

“A pedestrian might see a vehicle coming and assume that the vehicle is seeing them and that may not be the case because the driver would have something obscuring their vision and then an innocent bystander might end up getting hit,” said McMaster.