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Respecting other road users
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Although it is true to say that walking and cycling to work are increasingly popular, and Connex reported this week that 38 per cent more commuters travelled on the bus last year compared with 2010, our roads have undoubtedly never been busier.
Whereas queues would once form at the western end of Victoria Avenue only during the evening rush hour, now long columns of vehicles inch along at various times throughout the day and often at weekends.
Of course, this is all relative and anyone with experience of driving in the UK will pour scorn on Jersey motorists complaining about sitting in traffic for ten minutes at Bel Royal or other Island choke-points.
More cars clearly lead to more congestion and potentially more cases of frustration on the road. Earlier this week cyclist Tony Moffa warned Islanders, through the columns of this newspaper, that road rage appeared to be on the increase. He also said that motorists’ antipathy towards cyclists seems to be at unprecedented levels – though he might have added that a minority of cyclists fail to advance their cause by riding three or four abreast.
It is perhaps inevitable that with more congestion there will be, at best, more frayed tempers and, at worst, more accidents on our roads. But these are not developments that we should simply accept.
Firstly, we have a duty to drive sensibly, defensively and within the law. With an increase in the number of vehicles, it is even more important that drivers keep within speed limits. In addition, the recently launched multi-agency crackdown on excessive speed should be welcomed by all those who value road safety.
Secondly, it is important that the custom of giving way and offering latitude, and even friendliness, to other road users – so welcome on our busy roads and remarked upon by visitors – is maintained and promoted. The Island can take pride that systems such as the filter-in-turn at Beaumont and the merge-in-turn at Bel Royal work so well. In future, such cordiality on the roads may not be a mere welcome quirk of Island motoring, but an essential requirement.
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