STOP SPLASHING US! - Pedestrians say drivers putting them at risk
Walk-foot commuters say they are fed up with the recklessness being displayed by drivers on the roads. With the rainy season in full effect, many commuters are finding it hard to make it home in clean, dry clothes as they say some drivers are purposely speeding along wet roadways, splashing them with mud and other unhygienic waste.
According to Ruel Maxwell, some drivers refuse to cut their speed, especially around puddles and drains.
"We have to play hopscotch on these roads. If there is a large puddle of water, we have to either hurry across the road or wait forever for a line of traffic to pass. Drivers can easily reduce their speed when driving on wet roads and try to avoid potholes. Majority of splashes are as a result of cars driving fast through the water. In all the instances where I was splashed, a driver has never apologised. I guess pedestrians are not humans and deserve to be treated like garbage," he told THE STAR.
Another commuter stated that he will resort to violence the next time a driver gets him muddy. "Of course, the drivers can slow down on the road, especially if the road has no proper drainage system. A driver splashed me one day, and he did not stop to apologise. I don't believe he even realised the magnitude of his actions. Nowadays, I try to minimise the amount of travelling I do when it rains, because if I'm splashed again, I'm breaking someone's car glass."
While some commuters are simply content to wipe off the splashes and continue on their journey, medical practitioner, Dr Chima Davidson-Alcock, told THE STAR that greater care should be taken following exposure to dirty water.
"There are bacteria in the water. It's not ideally clean. People throw rubbish in the water and other kinds of waste. The germ aspect of bacteria is there, and then you can catch infections. It's not a case where you'll be splashed and then immediately catch a cold," she explained. "If it's splashed in your face, your mouth or on your hand, you can get gastroenteritis. If it's splashed in your eye, you can get an eye infection, so it's not healthy. It's definitely not good to be splashed with dirty water, so drivers should be careful when driving."
A driver who is found guilty of splashing, under the law is guilty of careless driving and can be fined up to $5000.