Dec. 30, 2008 – An accident Monday that sent a dump truck off the road in Susannaberg is another example of the problems big trucks cause on St. John. A resident who called the Source Monday to report the accident said no one was injured. Further information was not available from the V.I. Police Department.
For years residents have complained that trucks speeding on Centerline Road from Cruz Bay to Coral Bay are an accident waiting to happen. In the Coral Bay area they lean on their horns to let other drivers know they're speeding down the twisting road.
"The large trucks have very little concern for other traffic on the road. This is a major danger for the people of St. John," Coral Bay resident Sharon Coldren said.
Recently she and her husband were heading home to their house, located uphill from Centerline Road, when a container truck heading around a bend took up the entire road, forcing them to drive very close to the hillside.
"We could have been crushed," she said.
The truck noise and blaring horns is another issue. The Coral Bay area is a bowl, with most of the homes uphill of Centerline Road. The noise from the trucks and the horns the drivers sound to warn motorists out of their way is so loud that conversations often stop until they go by. Coldren said that the truck drivers seem to think by blaring their horns they can take up the entire road.
"It's a real detraction to the peaceful enjoyment of homes in Coral Bay," Coldren said.
Help may be on the way, but it won't come soon enough for residents fed up with the ever present danger caused by speeding trucks and the noise that interrupts their peace.
"It's something that's being worked on. We're trying to insure that bigger vehicles are moving at a safer pace," said Helen Simon, who heads St. John's Community Integration Team.
The team is trying to solve St. John's problems that involve the police Department and serves as a liaison between the department and the public.
St. John's roads are narrow and winding. Simon said that when trucks veer over into the oncoming lane, it becomes treacherous.
Both Simon and St. John Administrator Leona Smith said the Police Department is stepping up efforts to rein in speeding truck drivers.
"If somebody is a habitual problem it needs to be looked at," Smith said.
According to Smith, the Motor Vehicle Bureau is developing rules and regulations that truckers must follow.
However, Simon is a realist. She said that while the rules and regulations may be in place, not all truckers will comply and St. John will still be faced with a problem. She said that truckers often speed because they're hurrying to make the next departing barge back to St. Thomas.
Simon said that the Police Department plans a meeting with truckers in January.
She suggested that residents report speeding truckers to the Police Department at 911. Smith said they can call her office at 776-6484.
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