PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — At approximately 7:15am on Wednesday, December 15, 2021 , Central Dispatch received several calls about a serious accident on Welfare Road.
Based on information recieved, a motorcycle rider was struck and badly injured near Domino’s Pizza. Several patrol and the paramedics were dispatched to the scene.
Apparently, the driver of the white car coming from the direction of the airport made a left turn without giving way to the scooter rider approaching from the opposite direction. As a result, the scooter rider ended up slamming into the front side of the car.
The ambulance personnel treated the victim at the scene and rushed him to St. Maarten Medical Center. The scooter rider sustained a fracture of the left leg and cranium.
The Police Traffic Department is still investigating this incident.
Police once again warn drivers about their behavior in traffic. Serious accidents keep happening and severity of the damages has resulted in death of road users.
One of the situations that now stands out is the failure to use the direction indicator when changing lanes. A vehicle has several signalling devices, such as indicators, brake lights, hazard warning light, headlights, and reversing light. These signalling devices are used by a driver to communicate to other road users what they intend to do.
They help drivers “read the road”. Signals give advance warning to other road users that you intend to perform a manoeuvre. Your signals must be given in good time before you start your manoeuvre and for long enough for their meaning to be clear to other road users. Don’t signal too soon as this could cause confusion.
