A transport advisor suggests that the government reconsider banning heavy vehicles outside the Mandarin’s House, following yet another car crash in the neighborhood.
On Sunday noontime, a tourist coach took the street on the side of the Mandarin’s House. The coach driver tried to squeeze the vehicle through the narrow street, causing two sequential crashes.
At the first bottleneck, the driver edged the coach towards the left and crashed against two fences and a short pillar. Instead of stopping the vehicle and calling the police, he continued driving and then scratched the coach against the exterior wall of a residential building on the left of the Mandarin’s House and the Mandarin’s House on the right.
The Mandarin’s House is a component of The Historic Centre of Macao, a UNESCO-accredited World Heritage site.
The Public Security Police Force (PSP) has pressed charges against the driver, including charges of evasion of responsibility and other violations of the Road Transport Law. The driver explained to the police that he was driving around while waiting for his customers. He ended up in the narrow street because he – a local driver – was “not familiar with the neighborhood.”
The wall of the Mandarin’s House saw minor scratches and sustained no structural damage, according to local media outlet Macao Daily News. The coach sustained more obvious damage in the form of a smashed windshield, a broken bumper, a detached side mirror, as well as scratches on both sides.
The external wall of the Mandarin’s House has seen three instances of damage by passing vehicles in the past four years. All of them were caused by heavy vehicles.
Following the accident, transport affairs advisor Bell Cheong suggested the government reconsider whether heavy vehicles are appropriate on certain narrower streets and alleys in the city, according to Macao Daily News.
She cited the industry as admitting that some tour coach drivers are newcomers and unfamiliar with road conditions and the width of certain roads. She suggested that training be enhanced in these areas, including but not limited to listing traffic blackspots and narrow roads to coach drivers with less experience.
On the other hand, Cheong suggested that the government consider possible strategies to be implemented to prevent future avoidable accidents. For example, she said, older districts such as San Kiu, the Three Lampposts and Penha Hill should either see widened roads or heavy vehicles barred. This will help with safety for both drivers and pedestrians, she added.
