WILLEMSTAD – Curaçao police are raising concerns about irresponsible behavior on the island's roads, particularly parents allowing children to travel in vehicles without proper restraints or even hang out of car windows.
Police officer Osepa called on parents and other adults transporting children to take greater responsibility for their safety, warning that basic road-safety practices that were once widely understood appear to be increasingly ignored.
Osepa recalled that parents were traditionally taught that children should sit in the back of a vehicle. Today, however, police are encountering situations in which children are not only improperly seated but can even be seen hanging out of vehicle windows.
“Where has our sense of responsibility gone?” Osepa asked.
According to the officer, the principle that minors should not simply be allowed to sit in the front of a vehicle has lost some of its importance among motorists. He stressed that parents have a responsibility to make sure children are properly seated and secured with a seat belt.
Osepa said parents should not need the police to teach them these basic responsibilities. Adults are expected to protect their children and should not allow minors to behave dangerously inside a moving vehicle.
The officer stressed that safer traffic begins with individual responsibility and seemingly small decisions, including ensuring that children are properly restrained before a vehicle starts moving.
According to Osepa, if every road user takes responsibility for his or her own behavior, Curaçao's roads can become safer for everyone.