Some bar owners says they intend to heed the advice of the police by encouraging patrons to either use designated drivers or not to drink at all when liming.
The Police Service at a press conference at Police Administration Building, Port-of-Spain, announced that some 136 people were killed in road traffic accidents for the year to date. For the same period last year the figure was 147, representing a seven per cent reduction.
But traffic officers said that figure still remained unacceptably high. “As we are fast approaching the end of 2015, T&T is also entering a very festive period with Christmas season being quickly followed by an early feting season as a result of Carnival being celebrated early on February 8 and 9, 2016.
“It is in this context and against the backdrop of the recent road traffic accidents which resulted in multiple road deaths, the TTPS is again reminding road users of the importance of their roles in road safety,” said public information officer of the Police Service, acting ASP Michael Pierre.
The manager of one St James bar agreed with the police that for too long people were jeopardising not only their lives but also those of innocent people when they ran the risk of drinking and driving.
“Too much people dying on the roads and with Christmas there is only craziness on the roads,” he added.
But another bar owner said very little could be done to stop a person who wanted to drink then drive after. “Once you leave my bar there is nothing I could do afterwards,” he said.
President of Arrive Alive, Sharon Inglefield; Douglas Mayers, of the Copyright Organisation of Trinidad and Tobago (COTT); Shirlane Hendrickson, assistant general secretary of the Trinbago Unified Calypsonians Organisation (TUCO); Stacy Clarke, of the T&T Beverage Alcohol Alliance and acting Supt Mathura Singh of the Police Service’s Traffic and Highway Patrol Branch launched an initiative on Wednesday which was aimed at keeping motorists and passengers safe throughout the Christmas period into Carnival.
The measures also entailed stepping up patrols on what they described as “hot days and hot nights.”
Contacted yesterday, managing director of Carib Brewery Gabriel Faria urged drivers not only to drink responsibly for the Christmas into Carnival seasons but “all year round.”
In a telephone yesterday interview, Faria also appealed to drivers to have regard for human life.
He said should drivers feel the urge a have a drink they should let good sense prevail and do so in moderation.
“We don’t want people to be only safe for this Christmas season we want them to be safe into the Carnival season and all year round,” he added.
Angostura’s public affairs and corporate communications manager Giselle Laronde-West said the company had also been involved in awareness campaigns.
She said: “We have been encouraging drivers to be responsible.
We also did several ads and have launched awareness campaigns on social media.”
She said it was evident that people were responding to the campaigns on social media sites as there had been in excess of 1,000 downloads.
She said while the company continued to promote its rum products “we have been doing all we can” to promote awareness.
She said those campaigns have even extended to schools so that school children could be made aware of safe driving and the effects of drinking and driving when they reached adulthood.