Get people home safely: Saint Lucia’s next 90 days on the road.

Remember what happened at Cas En Bas.

On Friday 18 September, two Entrepôt Secondary School pupils were seriously injured in a collision at Cas En Bas. By Monday, their school community had gathered to support them. Principal Arthur Scott said both had moved from intensive care to a general ward. That is welcome news. Recovery can still be a long road for a child and a family.

The policy question begins with the walk home. A school safety inspection should follow the routes children use from bus stops and nearby homes, even when those routes are far from the school gate. We should ask where a child can stand, where a driver can see them, and what happens when two vehicles meet beside a narrow walking space. The collision report does not establish cause or fault. It does give us a reason to inspect without delay.

“We have to be looking out for each other.”

Arthur Scott, Entrepôt Secondary School principal, quoted by St. Lucia Times, 21 September 2026.

Sources: St. Lucia Times [SR1]

Count people carefully, and count the harm after survival.

The Voice’s 29 July report distinguished 13 fatal collisions from 16 people killed. Two later deaths were separately reported in August. SLPA therefore records a provisional minimum of 18 for 2026 in the evidence reviewed on 23 September. That is a lower bound assembled from public reporting. It is not a newly issued police total, and it cannot tell us that no further deaths occurred.

Our incident list now matches 14 deaths to 12 events. Four deaths within the July anchor remain unmatched. We have removed the earlier annualised projection and the comparison with a 2025 figure reported as fatal collisions. A collision can kill more than one person. Those numbers cannot be exchanged.

The register should also link serious injuries to hospital care, rehabilitation and return to school or work. Publish anonymous totals, with a clear 30-day death definition and a stated injury classification. Keep unresolved vehicle-related deaths in a separate reconciliation queue until the responsible agencies settle their statistical classification. Families should not disappear from the record because the paperwork crosses departments.

Sources: The Voice [SR2]St. Lucia Times [SR3]

A repaired road needs a safety check too.

Just before the review week, Kenson Casimir raised concerns about speeding following road improvements around Riviere Mitan, Desrameaux and Morne Citon. He also described requests for speed bumps along Masade–Cap Estate. The concern is useful. Potholes cannot be the country’s speed-management system. Good surfacing should arrive with good decisions about speed, visibility and walking space.

Use low-speed zones at places where people regularly cross or walk close to traffic. A 30 km/h design is a sensible starting point for a school, market or village setting, subject to engineering and lawful signage. It is not a blanket prescription for every highway. Raised crossings, narrower entries and protected footways can help; the choice depends on slope, drainage, buses, ambulances and access for people with disabilities. An improvised hump can create a new hazard.

The August Malgretoute scooter collision involved a parked backhoe. Parked construction vehicles also appear in the Cas En Bas account. These reports do not establish one shared cause or illegal parking. They justify checking how equipment is stored, whether people have a continuous protected route, and whether obstacles are visible at night. Require a contractor’s traffic plan and a named person who can correct an unsafe arrangement immediately.

Sources: St. Lucia Times [SR4]St. Lucia Times [SR3]St. Lucia Times [SR1]World Health Organization [SR8]World Health Organization / United Nations [SR9]

Switzerland: make the bend easier to read.

At the Seilkurve hairpin on Switzerland’s Brünig Pass, the bend tightens in a way that is hard to see on approach. The Federal Roads Office added graduated circular markings near the centreline in September 2022. It also improved grip on covers in riding lines, protected some barrier undersides and covered sharp roadside fittings. This is a useful model of safety work: find the particular hazard and change it.

The early Swiss observations found additional braking among 4% of motorcyclists after the markings. The earlier figure of about 80% covered road users generally, so it cannot be used to calculate a rider-specific reduction. The account shows a promising behavioural result, not a proven reduction in motorcycle deaths. It was first published in 2023 and republished in 2025.

Luxembourg’s N25 project likewise monitored riding position before and after special markings. A later project presentation also records rejecting a proposed treatment on the CR134 because the road was too narrow. That decision matters for Saint Lucia. Our proposal is a trial at one or two suitable bends after checks on wet grip, usable lane width, visibility and maintenance. Redesign for left-side driving. Do not simply copy the European paint pattern.

Sources: Swiss Federal Roads Office [SR11]Luxembourg Public Works [SR12]Luxembourg road authority / Mangen and Winkelbauer [SR13]

Give riders a safer road and a safer purchase.

Begin with hazards that matter to a rider: loose aggregate after works, slippery covers, abrupt edges, poor bend guidance, dangerous roadside hardware and vehicles turning across their path. Inspect priority bends with road engineers and experienced riders. Maintain grip and clear sight lines. Any barrier treatment must be designed for the site and kept clear of drainage and pedestrians.

Antilock brakes deserve a place in buyer guidance and public procurement. A US study comparing 65 motorcycle models found a 22% lower fatal-crash involvement rate associated with antilock brakes. It was an observational study, so rider selection and distance travelled remain limits. Singapore has announced a requirement for newly registered motorcycles from April 2027. That future rule is useful policy design, not evidence of an effect already achieved.

For Saint Lucia, first examine import costs, model availability and how compliance would be checked. Consider a phased new-registration standard only after that review. Do not demand unsuitable retrofits from current owners. In parallel, check certified helmet availability, fit and fastening, passenger coverage, tyre condition, brakes and hazard-focused instruction. A training course should not be sold as proof that a person can safely compensate for a badly designed road.

Sources: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety / Eric Teoh [SR7]Singapore Land Transport Authority [SR10]

Responsibility has to reach beyond the driver.

As Philip J. Pierre said in July, in the words reported by The Voice, the country can act against recklessness. The same duty reaches road designers, works contractors, vehicle inspectors and public agencies. Each controls part of the risk that a driver or pedestrian meets.

A practical programme needs one accountable delivery lead and separate professional duties. Infrastructure manages road treatments. Transport handles standards and operator arrangements. Police lead investigations and lawful enforcement. Health measures rescue, care and rehabilitation. Statistics reconciles definitions. Review the first sites together every fortnight, and publish what has actually changed.

A three-month period without a death would be welcome, but would not prove the pilot caused it. Look first for lower dangerous speeds, safer crossing behaviour, fewer observed conflicts and dependable emergency access. Compare with similar untreated sites where feasible, then follow injuries over a longer period. Select sites using several years of harm and current exposure so an unusually bad month does not manufacture an apparent improvement.

“we can emancipate ourselves from recklessness. We can emancipate ourselves from carelessness on the roads.”

Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre, quoted by The Voice, 29 July 2026.

Sources: The Voice [SR2]