Deplorable roads

With news of the terrible tragedy of 14 lives lost in the Portland road accident, we hope that the authorities will start to pay some attention to the deplorable roads in the Rio Grande valley.

Not too long ago, the bridge at Ginger House collapsed with a truck still on it. By the grace of God, no one was killed. It takes skill to pass another vehicle on that road.

The road can be widened at some points, and we thank the Government for the replacement bridge at Ginger House. The continued neglect of the bridges and road from Port Antonio to Millbank should be on the front burner.

The peaceful, and hardworking people of the Rio Grande valley have suffered to get their produce to Kingston for years with little redress.

Now, with this tragic and painful loss of lives we beg for some attention. All my family and ancestors are from that valley, and I trust that this accident will be a wake-up call for even minimum road maintenance.

- Tyrone Osborne

kutuki23@gmail.com

Bad road practices

I have always wondered about the safety of persons travelling in the back of a truck through the wee hours of the morning to get to the markets where they do their businesses. It is definitely an issue that should concern the Transport Authority.

The other issue I want to raise is that of road users seeming lack of knowledge of the road code. The Sunday Gleaner story reporting the accident stated that the truck was backing up to allow a car to pass.

Why was a truck backing up for a car? The difficulty of manoeuvring large units is the exact reason the road code gives large units the right of way in certain circumstances.

The disregard of the road code rule is one of the main problems heavy units have when manoeuvring the Mount Rosser main road that causes so many injuries/delays for other road users. Truckers are to be blamed sometimes, but so are other road users.

- Stephen Martin

Stephan0523@gmail.comKingston 10

Build bigger prisons

I believe that crime in Jamaica cannot be solved by fighting petty criminals who are really only a part of the whole social disorder in the country.

If I were prime minister, I would seek to build three major prison institutions big enough to hold up to 10, 000 inmates each - one in Cornwall, Middlesex and Surrey. This institution should be used as a tool to resocialise men from being animals into true human beings.

The focus should be on basic skills training to help detour people from a life of crime and violence into becoming more productive members of society.

- Michael Barnett

michaelbw2003@yahoo.com

Bronx, NY