James added that the tragedy that took place at Naked Boy Hill cannot and will not go unnoticed. The 12-year old pupil of Genevieve de Weever School died while crossing the street after she had exited a school bus. A dump truck filled with gravel ran over her. According to media reports, the brakes failed as the truck came down the hill.
"I will be calling for a parliamentary inquiry into this tragedy. It has happened too many times in the past where lives have also been lost, and once again another family is left in mourning.
"The time has come to do something about it. We have heard where brakes failed in the past; trucks were either overloaded with gravel material, steel or lumber. We need to make our country roads safer for all.
"Our road network is already congested and we also have a limited network system utilized by different types of road users especially during daylight hours. As parliamentarians, we need to gather as much information as we can about past accidents, the causes etc and what if anything was done to correct those situations. Of course it all depends on what occurred in order to implement recommendations made to improve road safety.
"As we review current legislation, we need to make improvements to make our roads safer. The purpose of this inquiry will be to meet with the various stakeholders who can provide the relevant information and also at the same time inform us about their challenges and recommendations as well as solutions in making our roads safer for all," UP MP Jules James said on Sunday.
The intention is to have meetings with representatives from the Traffic Department, Tour Bus Companies, Truckers and other stakeholders with the Permanent Committee for Transportation before taking it to Parliament.
MP James said he would bring the matter to the UP Faction for further discussion and to get the ball moving in calling for either a central committee meeting of parliament or a permanent committee meeting.
