Statement by Councillor Jahdia Spencer of West Thamesmead Ward in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, London, U.K. and The Free Democratic Movement’s Youth Democratic Leader:
Am I Next?
To every family grieving someone taken from them on our roads, I am so sorry for the absence you are now living with, and for the conversations and plans you thought you still had time for. I hope you have people around you who will listen when you want to talk and sit with you when you do not.
On an island as small as Bermuda, it is so often someone we know: an old school friend, your neighbour’s sister, the guy who hailed you up at D&C Grill just two days ago. The news moves through group chats first, then Facebook searches, Instagram posts, shared photos and rows of candle emojis. These are people we stood beside at Cup Match, people we beeped at just yesterday on Middle Road, and now we are trying to understand how they are gone.
Whatever our age or background, underneath the sadness sits that frightening question: am I next?
This is not normal, you lot, and I worry that we are slowly accepting something that should still move us to act. I have watched Bermuda come together at vigils, holding each other up, and I want us to carry that care into the moments before we leave each other’s company. Check that your friends have fastened their helmets and worked out how they are getting home; if someone has been drinking, help arrange a ride or offer the couch. Bartenders can be part of that care too, because they may recognise when someone needs help getting home safely.
You may believe you are a top rider, or perfectly fine to drive after a few drinks, but please leave the keys if you have been drinking and remember that even sober, you cannot control everyone around you. Spatial awareness means noticing the whole road, including the pedestrian beside the wall, the vehicle edging out and what you cannot see around the bend. People who are neither driving nor riding, and who have not been drinking, are also being killed, which makes this a responsibility we share with everyone using the road.
Those in charge must take that responsibility seriously too, because repeated pleas about potholes and dangerous stretches deserve lasting repairs and clear timelines. Are we responding quickly enough, and does the Road Safety Council have the support and freedom to innovate? The Government should assess where mirrors at blind corners or carefully designed traffic calming could help, and review whether our driving test adequately prepares people to recognise developing hazards.
In Britain, learner drivers must pass the hazard perception component of the theory test, using video clips to identify developing dangers, before taking their practical driving test. Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service’s “Your Impact” programme also uses virtual reality for road safety education. Could we be bold enough to imagine a safer reality here, beginning with a pilot using filmed or simulated Bermuda roads? Learners could use virtual reality to practice spotting and responding to a child beside a parked car or unsafe overtaking on wet and narrow roads, without putting anyone at risk. Our size could make it possible to test an approach locally, learn from it and build it into training and assessment.
For those grieving, I hope our care continues after the vigils and that remembering your loved ones moves us to protect one another. When we say, “Let me know you got home,” there is someone we hope to hear from again tomorrow, so please keep that person in mind as you take your time getting home tonight.
