Delinquent drivers who routinely rack up traffic tickets may now face suspension of their driving licences under a new scheme being proposed by the Ministry of Works and Transport.
Transport Commissioner Wayne Richards, road safety advocate Brent Batson and president of road safety awareness Non-Governmental Organisation, Arrive Alive, Sharon Inglefield, all agreed that the move for harsher penalties against delinquent drivers would have a direct impact on the high number accidents and road fatalities recorded over the past few years.
While the trio, who were consulted by the Ministry of Works and Transport before a draft policy was published in July, said they expected the new system would have been implemented “soon”. However, newly-appointed Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan says it was not part of the ministry’s immediate plans.
In a telephone interview, Sinanan said: “The legislation is there but there is still time to go before it can be implemented.”
Batson, who is also a police officer with the Highway Patrol and Traffic Branch, said that the system would augment the current ineffective ticketing system.
“There are only so much tickets traffic law enforcement officers can write to drivers. The demerit points system lends more credence and weight to the consequences of unsafe driving decisions and actions,”he added..
With the United Nations Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims being commemorated tomorrow, both Richards and Batson called on drivers to keep in mind the number of people who lost their lives each year in road traffic accidents when driving dangerously in the future.
“We (the police) ask the public to reflect on the fact that 111 persons were killed on roadways in T&T in 2016 so far and to visualise 111 families across T&T that are going to have empty spaces this Christmas and wonder how they can have a Merry Christmas,” Batson said.
For the comparable period last year 129 people were killed in road accidents.
Batson said that in terms of international ratings T&T ranks close with the United States in terms of the number of road traffic accidents per capita.
“The thing about it, is it is not good to be compared to the US in this because we have less kilometres of road. So it means more people are killed in a smaller environment,” Batson said.
“The message we are trying to get out is the country is small. Where you going to reach with speed,” Batson said.
Transport Commissioner Richards called on drivers to consider the effects of road traffic accidents apart from fatalities.
“An accident, due to an error on behalf of one, can cost the country hundreds of thousands of dollars, manpower and pain and suffering to so many. Therefore the road traffic laws and regulations is placed for each and every one of us so we can have a harmonic relations.
“With simple things like using of cellphone while driving and obeying the speed limit, respect it for what its worth and for the rest of the country,” Richards said.
Remembering accident victims
To commemorate United Nations Day ofRemembrance for Road Traffic Victims, Arrive Alive is hosting its annual Walk and Ride from the Queen’s Park Oval car park on Elizabeth Street, St Clair, at 8 am tomorrow. The event will also feature an expanded Traffic Village, which will feature demonstrations on road safety.
“This event is commemorated around the world and is so significant due to amount of persons lost every year on the roads across the world... 1.3 million people,” she said.
Inglefield, whose son Jonathan was killed in an accident in 2009, said her organisation would be focusing specially on pedestrians as a high number have been killed in accidents between last year and this year.
“This year and last year almost the same amount of pedestrians have died and as drivers we want to remind them that they are the ones who are most vulnerable. We urge them to cross the roads responsibly, to wear fluorescent or iridescent clothing once it is dark because it was very difficult for drivers to see people crossing the road at night,” she said.