During a recent stakeholder session organised by the Ministry of Works and Transport (MWAT) to discuss road safety, stakeholders soon realised there were common impediments to progress in their mission. How can they focus redress when they do not even know what the problems are? This has to do with the procurement of accurate and reliable statistics on road accidents, their location, the types of injury, times and days when they occurred, the reasons, the circumstances, etc. The complaints about procuring this information from police stations and from the Crime and Problem Analysis Unit (CAPA) of the Ministry of National Security are myriad, despite the sanction of the Commissioner of Police. There are some very urgent safety issues which cry out for immediate attention. Firstly, the pedestrian mortality rate is more than 22 per cent of all road deaths. This is much too high and calls for better design of walkovers and the effective placement of barriers to prevent pedestrians from dashing across highways instead of using the walkovers. In fact, the majority of them have emerged as quick fixes for communities at risk to pedestrian deaths.
Secondly, there should be the immediate installation of appropriate barriers on the medians of our freeways, to prevent the crossing of vehicles from lanes going in one direction to those going in the opposite, a major cause of multiple deaths. Officials of the Ministry of Works and Transport have advised that the Government was on the verge of awarding a contract to satisfy this urgent need. Thirdly, the police have all but given up on monitoring drivers who break the speed limits. The gathering was told by officials of the MWAT that legislative measures to introduce radar timing devices were ready and that by next year, the speed cameras would be in position on our roads. Hopefully, the reform of the ticket system to accommodate all of this would have also been completed by then, since Police Commissioner Dwayne Gibbs, has told the chamber that such reform is a pre-condition to introduction of the timing devices and cameras.
In 2009, the UN World Health Organisation (WHO) issued a global call to action by all member countries and respective governments to create a system of policies and standards to urgently address the issue of road safety, a part of their national injury prevention system. WHO noted that road traffic injuries are a major, but neglected global public health problem requiring immediate, concerted efforts for effective and sustainable intervention. It is estimated that without increased efforts and new initiatives, the total number of road traffic deaths worldwide and injuries is forecast to rise by some 65 per cent over the next 20 years. In low to middle income countries, deaths are expected to increase by as much as 80 per cent. What this means for T&T, with a vehicular population of 700,000 plus, 8,320 kilometres of road, 4,252 kilometres of which is paved, is that road fatalities will average 200 persons a year, reported collisions some 30,000 and the collision risk factor 23:1 with the collision risk time being 17 minutes.
The bottom line in all of this is that T&T has to urgently address road safety otherwise its unsatisfactory risk profile will attract penalty and action from WHO, and as a result could possibly negatively impact the country's competitiveness and the Government's efforts to diversify the economy away from oil and gas.
The stakeholders at the meeting therefore needed to brainstorm for the most appropriate vehicle to respond to all these challenges. Should it be government led or not? What should it be empowered to do? Would it be a creature of statute or not? Of which organisations should it be comprised? In the chamber's opinion, the proposed National Road Safety Council (NRSC) ought to be akin to the Transport Board of a bygone era which was chaired by the Transport Commissioner and included representatives of the Chamber, the T&T Automobile Association, the Road Safety Association, the Police Service and professionals in the disciplines of civil engineering. It advised the chairman on all traffic management signage, the motor vehicle industry and, safety and enforcement of the traffic laws.
However, the NRSC's function should not only be advisory, but should be given some teeth, especially with impact through legislation relative to the powers it exercises and its consent should be mandatory for any changes to the traffic and licensing laws or policies. Above all, it should be chaired by an independent person. The scope, jurisdiction and mandate of the NRSC may be the topic of further deliberation. Crime is recognised by all as national issue number one. In the chamber's view, road traffic offences are also crimes as they are tried and dismissed applying criminal law. Many hardened criminals can be arrested because of motoring offences if competently and efficiently policed. The cost to the country runs into millions. According to a World Bank report for 2008, the economic cost of road traffic related injuries was around 1.5 per cent of annual GNP. The Association of Insurance Companies of T&T has estimated claims as being around $435 million in 2008. All of this translates to a significant loss of productivity in terms of time lost man hours, healthcare and similar costs. All stakeholders, therefore, have a vested interest in its reduction, not only from an economic standpoint, but in the interest of preserving the lives of our youth, family life and most productive minds and bodies of the national population.