From time to time, a magistrate imposing a hefty fine in a DUI court matter is reported as muttering remarks which all have the same intent and meaning: "like dis ting eh wukkin' boy."
It seems motorists who simply can't separate drinking from their driving, aren't at all fazed by the threat of being publicly scandalised by a DUI arrest. A photo in the paper with the headline "Doctor/Lawyer/Pastor/Accountant breathalysed" fails to instil terror as broadly as it should, even though there are several instances in which the offenders have lost their jobs as a result of the ignominy attached to the charge.
But then, some motorists get behind the wheel of a car while properly blotto without agonising over the risk of actually killing others on the road. They aren't looking as far forward as that portentous meeting with the HR department on Monday morning.
A newspaper report this week observed that notwithstanding the issuance of $43 million in fixed penalty notices and the arrest of 2,300 motorists for drunk driving this year, reckless driving resulting in fatalities remains a national narrative without deviation. The comments came from the police service in reference to the recent, allegedly alcohol-related accident which claimed the life of a 68 year-old woman.
The country appeared to embrace seat belt laws over a relatively short period. The menace of being pulled over for not wearing one was not nearly as dire as a being paraded stale drunk in front of press cameras, so why is the culture of "one for the road" so slow to change?
Breathalyser road blocks could always be increased and expanded across the country. This is one area of law enforcement, though, that there have been the right signals from the police.
Judging by the nature of some of the laughable excuses offered to magistrates by the conveniently contrite, it would suggest that vanquishing our drunk driving culture is going to require far greater effort.
"I went to drop meh fren to ah weddin' ah was just waiting by de bar to pick she up afta!" Of course that guy could have waited back at home, but that was where the hard liquor was not.
What this says is most offending motorists still believe that the probability of being apprehended is very low. Law enforcement must convince them that the chance is far greater that they appreciate at the moment.
It bears repeating, we are a nation of drinkers. We are also a people with scant respect for the law, any law. When I was a young adult, the main consequence of being stopped in a roadblock with a cooler of chilled beers would be having to surrender as many beers as there are officers searching the vehicle.
Back then it seemed the "designated" driver was a rare creature indeed. Teetotalers were probably less interested in liming, instead spending their weekends on bended knee at interminable religious retreats damning the rest of us heathens guzzlin' debble dawg by the river.
So people drive to the bar or the fete with little or no thought spared for how they would get home. It is just the Trini way.
Some of the more conscientious among us have taken to hiring shuttles to ferry them home after a night on the Avenue or at the discotheque. As a whole though, Trinis may balk at the prospect of spending hundreds, if not thousands every month to avoid breaking the law (nut when I makin' payments on dat car sittin' dong in de yard).
Never mind that the costs associated with a DUI conviction, or worse, causing the death of someone else on the road would make shuttle fees seem positively paltry by comparison.
Greater law enforcement is critical yes, but we also need stronger public education programmes to accelerate the culture shift needed to bring down drunk-driving road fatalities.
It will take a sustained education campaign to lock-in the profound, potentially life-altering consequences of getting behind the wheel while tight like a snare drum.
While we have as much of an aversion for education, as we do for adherence to the law, that doesn't permit abdication of our duty to teach people, particularly young adults, the awesome responsibility of controlling two tonnes of metal and momentum.
This is a country where we have always driven home from the beach, river and fete with more than a few under our belts. "I does drive better when I drunk" is right up there with God is ah Trini.
With the Christmas season in full swing, and the consequent increase in after-work limes, this is an excellent time for law enforcement to aggressively apply the breathalyser.
Local media houses should exercise their corporate social responsibility and produce a series of PSAs to remind motorists about the dangers of drinking and driving.
We tolerate, nay, celebrate, lawlessness almost as if it were an expression of individual freedom. It is past time though, that drunk driving be accorded the seriousness it deserves. We all have people waiting at home for us.