This letter is in response to Raymond Ramcharitar's column headlined Dopey Dui D�j� Vu, which was published in the Guardian on March 11.Over the last ten years we have had 1,380 road fatalities, of which approximately 414 lost their lives due to drinking and driving. The facts show that males under the age of 35 years are particularly at risk since 82 per cent of all fatalities are male.
In our country, too many of us are fearful of change and don't wish to make the effort to change unless the consequences directly affect them. The fact remains that we will never become a developed, safe, crime-free society if we don't embrace change and enforce our laws from littering to drinking and driving on our nation's roads. The message–IF YOU DON'T WISH TO PAY THE FINES NOR GO TO GAOL–don't litter and don't drink and drive.
The cultural and behavioural change will come in time once there is a consistent approach to enforcement. In Australia for example, it took ten years of consistent education and enforcement of its laws to bring about a meaningful reduction in the number of road fatalities due to driving under the influence of alcohol. The slogan was adopted, "If you drink, then drive, you're a bloody idiot," recognising that it was no longer socially acceptable to drink and drive!!
Research has proven that the fines imposed do act as a deterrent and once enforced consistently, are effective in changing behaviour. There are numerous examples of this in jurisdictions worldwide.
We would like Mr Ramcharitar to IMAGINE! Imagine you have lost your son or daughter at the hands of a drunk driver, or a driver who has been distracted due to talking on their mobile phone! Imagine the pain, the void, the loss. All the years of love and care; of mentoring; the family legacy; the dreams and hopes dashed! Imagine having to experience the lengthy and destructive court system, if there is evidence to support the crime.
Imagine the family who has to suffer through the Magistrates Court and the preliminary inquiry and then to suffer the repeat on to the High Court, only to have the offender finally sentenced to community service due to the lengthy legal system–since it took ten years for a guilty verdict! Imagine this was your son or daughter!
We are deeply disappointed at the fact that this writer draws reference to the "poor, minorities, and especially young black men" with regard to the drinking and driving laws and the fines imposed therein. This is not an issue of race, creed or class. A road fatality involving a family member, particularly a young member of a family, is a tragic, destructive event that does not discriminate nor select from any strata of society. The family of a breadwinner who is killed by a drunk driver is not only crippled financially but they must also deal with the very real, not imagined, destruction of their family unit.
Arrive Alive, as well as other road safety NGOs, in partnership with our law enforcement officers and our magistrates, as well as the relevant ministries are working to save the lives of everyone, BECAUSE EVERY LIFE COUNTS–our message forever more.
We have partnered with all relevant bodies including the T&T Police Service, the relevant ministries and the chief magistrate in our committed drive to effect change. In so doing we subscribe fully to the concept that 'nobody is above the law'–rich, poor, black, white, Christian, Hindu nor Muslim. One might argue that those in our society who are educated and come from a more fortunate background should adopt the policy: to whom a lot is given a lot is expected.
It is notable that our magistrates have, prior to imposing the fine, been known to express the view that such offenders have a role to play as better role models. The facts, however, speak for themselves; over 30 per cent of all fatalities in this Country are due to drinking and driving, and another 40 per cent due to speed.
Furthermore, males under the age of 35 years are particularly at risk since 82 per cent of all fatalities are male. It therefore goes without saying that these two areas (drinking and driving, and speeding) demand our attention and the fines introduced are reflective of the statistics. And so they should!
The measures introduced over the past few years have begun to show results and in 2013, we have finally seen a reduction of almost 21 per cent over the last year, due in no small part to the new road safety laws which include the breathalyzer, and most importantly the heightened threat of being caught.
The figure of 151 deaths in 2013 was the lowest for ten years recorded in T&T. However, this is still 151 lives lost, all of which could have been prevented, since they all could have been avoided. This is no act of God; this is man's choice to continue to push the boundaries and to take unnecessary and unlawful risks because for too long little has been done to curb the carnage on our nation's roads.
Research continues to demonstrate that education and awareness programmes, and campaigns are important, but are only effective when supported by effective legislation and consistent meticulous enforcement. Social reform is also imperative. Community service for offenders is recognised as an effective punishment but these programmes need to be put in place.
While we fully recognise that our systems and procedures are far from perfect, we must at the same time salute and compliment the Police Service, the wardens, Licensing officers who are driving this initiative to bring about a transformation of the law and order on our nation's roads. For too long now, the traffic and highways division suffered from a lack of encouragement, motivation, and support. This division within the Police Service is critical to saving lives, and preventing all forms of crime, since every criminal must traverse our nation's roads. The hard-working, honest, proactive officers are our role models! We need to support them and train them continuously with the ultimate goal of transforming this entire branch into an elite and professional traffic management unit.
We salute the magistrates and judges who have adopted a "no tolerance" approach to all those socially accepted criminals who break the law by drinking and driving or driving recklessly, aggressively, and without care or concern for other road users. For too long now it has been an acceptable practice to drink and drive. It is deemed part of the 'Trinbago culture.'
Research has proven that certain measures are critical to reducing the dangers of impaired and distracted driving, and T&T as a member state of the United Nations, has signed on to the safe systems approach to road safety which has been tried and proven in many countries including:
�2 Educational and awareness campaigns directly targeting the issues that cause serious injury and death (in our case drinking and speed based on the evaluation of the statistical information). We have had a number of these campaigns in the past years
�2 Maintaining and enforcing the minimum legal age for drinking alcohol to 18 years–bear in mind that alcohol and substance abuse affects the healthy development of the body and brain of all our children under 20
�2 Breathalyzer testing–educating drivers through blood alcohol testing via the use of the breathalyzer at sober zones, educational workshops, and sobriety police road blocks
�2 Prohibiting open alcohol containers in moving vehicles (new law required in T&T)
�2 The revamping of our licencing authority with the new laws that are required to make our roads, our vehicles and our drivers safer. Too many lives are being lost due to putting politics before country. We therefore appeal to all our leaders to do the right thing because its the right thing to do
�2 Requiring drivers and passengers to wear seat belts. Research has proven that most people who drink and drive don't wear their seatbelts resulting in serious injury or death
�2 Stringent penalties and enforcement–the main goal of drunk driving enforcement is to raise the perception among drinking drivers that they will be stopped, investigated and charged for drunken driving. Increasing the number of police stops of suspected drunk drivers during high risk periods is critical to saving lives
Some of our magistrates request that offending drivers attend Arrive Alive meetings for road safety education and awareness particularly focusing on the consequences of drinking and driving prior to sentencing. A number of these people are also sent to Alcoholics Anonymous for assistance and hopeful rehabilitation.
We breathalyze all offenders at the start of these DUI meetings, and what is significant is that at 4 pm on a weekday some of these offenders FAIL THIS TEST! To fail a test when an offender is the custodian of the court says that the offender has a problem and needs help. We salute these magistrates who work tirelessly to maintain law and order, and who counsel these offenders and advise them to get help.
In some countries drunk drivers are confined to their homes with a GPS ankle band and must report to the police station every day, plus attend rehabilitation classes for their problem. In other countries, drunk drivers are required to install an electronic ignition locking device on their vehicle allowing them to test for alcohol prior to starting the vehicle.
As the Mr Ramcharitar notes, there is "general motor-anarchy" on our roads. The relevant stakeholders have responded appropriately with programmes and bills that are centred around education, awareness, and social reform, coupled with relevant laws and effective law enforcement. We therefore salute all of those stakeholders, including all drivers on our roads, who are serious about making a difference and who take their responsibilities seriously.
Arrive Alive