Minister of Transport and Works, Michael Lashley sits pensively in church on World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims on Sunday. He joined the Barbados Road Safety Association to commemorate the road casualties in Barbados during a special service held at the Sanctuary Empowerment Centre.
We want to save lives!
This was the overall message conveyed by Minister of Transport and Works, Honourable Michael Lashley, during his remarks at Sanctuary Empowerment Centre’s church service on Sunday. Emphasising that this is their mandate, the Minister joined members of the Barbados Road Safety Association who were present for the service, as they commemorated lives lost on World Day Of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims. This day is recognised on the third Sunday in November of each year.
Expressing his heartfelt condolences to families who had lost loved ones in road collisions, Lashley noted that for 2017 there were 26 road fatalities. Due to this reality, he emphasised the importance of sensitising the public about the situation, which will be done through various media.
“Although the rate is the lowest among the Caribbean region, we still have to create an awareness and to ensure that we have good behaviour on the roads.” said Minister Lashley.
Seeking to create a safe environment
Lashley stated that his ministry is seeking to create a safe environment for all road users. During his remarks, the Minister reminded the congregation that earlier this week he spoke about amendments to the Road Traffic Act in Parliament. He highlighted that one of the major talking points in the amendment is the provision of breathalyser test. Lashley said that this has to be mentioned due to incidences of drunk-driving in Barbados.
“The present Road Traffic Act – I believe Section 34 – speaks to driving under the influence of alcohol, but the fine is very – well I don’t want to say small, but I know in my years of practice in the law courts, I can’t recall someone being charged for driving under the influence of alcohol. But our stakeholders have informed us that there are many incidences of accidents being fatal, [people being] seriously injured as a result of a person driving under the influence of alcohol,” said Minister Lashley.
He pointed out the seriousness of the issue and added that the breathalyser will address drunk-driving. Other issues mentioned were distracted-driving (use of the cellphone while driving), reckless driving and stunts. In the incidence of distracted-driving, he said it was one of the main causes of serious and fatal injuries. He said other measures like the introduction of mandatory safety gear for bicycles and motorcycles will be part of their “vision zero” approach. This approach seeks to have zero road accidents on our roads.
“We are seeking to move towards that realistic goal of having zero, zero, zero accidents on our roads. That will come about as a result of an education, awareness, road safety campaign, which we had yesterday in Jubilee Gardens. We went out there and distributed The Highway Code, distributed parts of the legislature, distributed leaflets; in terms of a campaign to ensure that we have a vision zero approach, lowering the levels of road fatalities and serious injuries to all,” said Minister Lashley.