By Kebba Mambury
Mr. Burr Touray, the Public Relations Officer of the Gambia Ferry Service at the Gambia Ports Authority, has informed Foroyaa that brake failures are some of the factors responsible for accidents at the ferry terminals.
Touray said the accidents are mainly caused by brake failures, leading cars to slip off the ferry and plunge into the sea. He said most of the accidents on the ferry are caused by apprentices of truck drivers, saying most of trucks are heavily loaded with merchandises and lack proper maintenance of tyres and breaks.
PRO Touray revealed that the incident that occurred at the Trans-Gambia Bridge three days ago was due to brake failure and overloading which caused the truck’s head to dislocate from its body.
“The truck barred access or closed the bridge for 15 hours that night and nobody was able to cross during those hours. Thank God, no casualty was recorded.” He said.
“Sometime 5 years ago, a white lady was hit by a truck and she died. This was also due to brake failure.”
Touray said there are rules that regulate the boarding and discharging of the ferry, but most people do not adhere to that, especially the hawkers that roam about selling food and food stuff on the ferry.
“We have our sailors, captains and security personnel to check every vehicle before it boards the ferry. And mostly every passenger alight from the vehicle before it boards the ferry,” he said.
PRO Touray thus appealed to police to constantly inspect the vehicles including their tyres to ascertain whether they are in good condition to maintain safety.
