By Afanwi Jolenta
The absence of road signs along the road leading to down town Bamenda via the station hill has been described by several road users as a major cause of the many road accidents along the stretch.
Talking to www.hilltopvoices.com some inhabitants of the city have appealed to City Council authorities to install road signs from the governor's junction through the station hill, that will aid drivers plying that stretch of road. These pleas follow a recent ghastly accident that left at least one person seriously injured, in the early hours of Tuesday October 4th, 2022.
From the governor's junction, upstation Bamenda, driving downtown, there is a winding road stretch. The road has trees planted on both sides and about five bends, with an escarpment on the left side of the road in one of the corners, when descending and at the right when ascending, popularly referred to as the c-bend.
This point, has recorded a good number of ghastly accidents with several lives lost. Some city dwellers attribute the numerous accidents to over speeding and sometimes break failure.
The inhabitants have also invited drivers to be cautious and stop excessive speed, when using the station hill. This they say will reduce the frequency of road accidents along the escarpment on that stretch.
Reactions from some inhabitants indicates that road accidents along the station hill has been on the rise in the last seven years.
Some city dwellers recount the fatal accident that occurred in the early hours of Saturday June 21st, 2014 that left some three people dead, others mention the death of a 49 year old passenger who was crushed on the 25th of December 2016, as the bus descending the station hill overturned.
Denizens have been proposing solutions to officials of the Bamenda City Council that can curb these frequent accidents. Many plead on drivers to exercise patients and focus when plying that stretch, while others say road signs will be the best option to remedy the situation.
At the foot of the station hill, the Cameroon Baptist Convention (CBC) has constructed a sand bank. This they say is manage cars that could develop malfunction or speeding while descending the station hill. Several cars have landed on the facility recording very little or no damage.
Fred a cab driver in bamenda adds that drivers should follow the rules of driving, always make sure their vehicles are in good shape and that authorities can put an embankment along the road to prevent cars from falling in to the valley.
Transport officials say at least two accidents are recorded on that stretch weekly, with vehicles breaking down on a daily basis along the hill.
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