In recognition of the United Nations World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims today, Sunday 15th November 2020, the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) extends sincerest condolences to all the families and friends who have lost loved ones on the nation’s roadways in road traffic accidents.
This day is even more important and holds a greater sense of significance as it is set against the backdrop of last Friday’s fatal road traffic accident along the Manzanilla Mayaro Road, which claimed the lives a young mother and her three-month-old infant child.
Commissioner of Police, Gary Griffith, has set road policing as one of the TTPS’s key national policing goals to ensure and preserve public safety.
The sustained efforts of the Traffic and Highway Patrol Branch resulted in a 52 % reduction in road traffic deaths across the nation’s highways. This is due to relentless traffic enforcement exercises targeting high risk offences such as Exceeding Speed Limits, Driving Under the Influence (D.U.I), Seatbelt-use and Distracted Driving. The Traffic Branch Motorcycle Section and Road Policing Task Force often adopt a zero-tolerance approach to their enforcement efforts, as a means of reducing the risk caused by unsafe driving behaviours.
However, such a position is unfortunately oftentimes misinterpreted as
“oppressive” by motorists who are unable to see the bigger picture, which in reality shows that officers are simply trying to improve a driver’s behaviour and alertness on the nation’s roads.
The recent introduction of the digital UTURN E-Ticketing platform by the Ministry of Works and Transport has also changed the road safety landscape, by targeting errant driver behaviour through the introduction of a Demerit Point System for traffic violations. This new system serves as a strong deterrent to drivers who may want to breach road traffic laws. As repeat offenders, drivers can quickly lose their drivers’ permits, when they amass too many points on their record.
Police records indicate that 78 persons have lost their lives in road traffic accidents to date in 2020.
Although this figure represents a 25 % reduction from the previous year 2019, this figure is still unacceptably high due the preventable nature of many these incidents.
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