The excessive weight of endless lines of cars and vehicles on both inner and outer lanes during the two peak rush hours but particularly during the morning rush to work has indeed and truly reached insufferable and unbearable proportions bringing traffic movement virtually to a standstill.

This paralysing state of affairs is further aggravated by the presence on the road of huge, monstrous vehicles like cranes, low-loaders carrying heavy equipment, concrete mixers, super-heavy trucks, rubbish disposal vehicles as well as road cleaners and tree pruners operating during this critical time. All told, this forces traffic to move at a snail’s pace and hold up and delay traffic movement when, for obvious reasons, it is supposed to be moving at optimum, uninterrupted, permitted speeds. Frayed nerves, too often combined with late arrival at work, are the price being paid by the suffering public due to traffic congestion and vehicle density.

There exists at least a partial solution that can ease and minimise this unhealthy state of affairs.

The time is more than overdue for selfish, care-free heavy vehicle drivers and public works employees to be totally banned and prohibited during peak traffic hours. They should only be allowed on the road strictly before or after specified peak rush hours, the latter being reserved only for use by lightweight traffic.

The authorities should draw up and put into effect such restrictive laws in the public interest without any ado and desirably straight away.

Why is it that traffic authorities and police never show any remedial initiative under such crucial conditions paralysing road movement and, in the end, even life on the island?

Solutions suggested by the suffering public are received with the added insult of being totally ignored.

I shudder to think what would happen to an emergency patient being rushed to hospital who is caught up and imprisoned under such hellish situations and circumstances.

As things are moving or, more precisely, getting stuck, the time is not far off when the transport authority will have to engage another Arriva this time to fly a helicopter service for employees and others earning their livelihood away from home to be shunted on time to their destination.