This car was discovered in Defiance Haven at the back of a car wash after a motorist abandoned it on Friday, August 3. The piece of wood between the driver’s and passenger’s seats pierced the engine area and the firewall of the car and landed in the back seat. It is not clear if there were any injuries as a result of the accident, but many have expressed concern about the apparent danger of the wooden guardrails. Photo by John Halley.
Wooden guardrails are
vehicle-piercing objects
PHILIPSBURG--Wooden guardrails erected in Sucker Garden are becoming a major cause for concern, as the last six accidents have ended with the wood piercing vehicles, with the latest occurring Friday, August 3.
In Friday’s accident, the victim narrowly escaped being injured after the wood pierced the engine area of the car, burst through the firewall and pierced the dashboard, before stopping at the back seat after passing between the driver’s and passenger’s seats.
In another incident earlier this year, a Jamaican died as a result of being struck in the stomach by one such piercing lumber after crashing into the guardrail.
During Carnival, a motorist driving a white KIA Rio lost control of the steering wheel and slammed into the guardrail, causing the wood to break and pierce the car.
A truck also met with a similar fate, but the wood pierced the gas tank, and a man and woman driving a blue Hyundai narrowly escaped injury after crashing into the guardrail when the wood pierced the car passing directly between driver and passenger before stopping when it slammed into the back seat.
Police spokesman Inspector Ricardo Henson said Sunday in an invited comment, “Anything that results in injuries to persons or damage to property will always have the attention of the police, who remain concerned about these sorts of occurrences. However, in the case of the wooden guardrails, I am not certain what, if anything is being considered by the Traffic Department or the Department of Public Works, who would be the ones to deal directly with this matter.”
Henson said police had noticed that the end result was always that the wooden rails broke on impact and pierced the vehicles. The concern by many is that while there is a clear need for guardrails on Sucker Garden Road, metal rails would be less of a hazard, as they would not easily penetrate the vehicles.
There are also those who say safety is being sacrificed for beauty with the erection of the wooden rails.
No official comment has been received from the Public Works Department or Traffic Department as to their views on the subject.
