Dear Sir,

“It starts at home, and it starts with individuals and their own behaviours.”

That’s what transport minister Owen Darrell said in a May 18 article on speed cameras. In other words, “it’s your fault, not ours, citizen”.

Governments across the world have a habit of blaming their people for issues out of the public’s control. Bermuda is not immune. Many of us have got into the habit of blaming ourselves for these roads. It’s our “road culture” — it’s in our nature. Of course, if Bermudians really did just drive more safely, the roads would evidently be safer. Surely, who else could be at fault?

As a result, many Bermudians have attempted to spread awareness to foster a new “culture” of safety. We may be led to believe that this is the only way to create real change — as opposed to speed cameras or effective policing. I mean, it’s already a crime to drive under the influence, or to drive recklessly, or to speed … The law has not stopped us from doing it anyway. Unfortunately, believing this is part of the Government’s decades-long blame game, and it has worked right in its favour.

Accountability is fundamental to good governance, and political parties have a lot to gain from strategically spreading that accountability. This is not new; it happens all over the world.

For example, American car manufacturers were anxious to blame pedestrians for being run over by cars, to avoid additional regulations and restrictions on their burgeoning industry. Ultimately, they succeeded in doing so after extensive lobbying resulted in the introduction of the “jaywalking” offence.

Pedestrians became the enemy and infrastructure was designed to discourage it. This only made it even more dangerous to be a pedestrian. So, despite jaywalking being a crime in the US, more than double the rate of pedestrian deaths occur in that nation than in the UK, where it is not illegal.

Corporations and governments did the same by pushing the slogan “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” to address calls by the concerned public to end plastic waste. Instead of regulating plastic use via legislation, individuals were instead made “responsible” for it. It was up to us to reduce the plastic we used and to recycle what we’d otherwise throw out — even though necessities like food and medication were still being wrapped in it. Most recycled items end up in landfill.

There are plenty of other examples, but my point is: shifting blame on to citizens is an intentional process. And many of us have bought the story. The longer we convince ourselves that our culture is to blame, the less scrutiny the government faces.

Our own ministers, responsible for the law and its enforcement, have pointed the finger at us. And years of poor policy has led many to believe that only a massive cultural shift can solve the problem. In reality, the Government has always been responsible for enabling these dangerous roads. And they remain the only group with the power to fix it.

For our own sake, let’s not accept blame for the Government’s constant policy failures, and instead advocate for a government that openly and effectively makes change ― without hating its citizens.

OWEN FIGUREIDO

Devonshire