Barbados Road Safety Association welcomes breathalyser testing

The introduction of breathalyser testing from April 1 has been welcomed by President of the Barbados Road Safety Association, Sharmane Roland-Bowen.

Roland-Bowen has been calling for the implementation of these machines since the law to legislate their use was passed a few years ago.

She told Barbados TODAY that she was extremely pleased that it will now become a reality.

“Words cannot explain my emotions and now that it is here it will help stop injury on our roads, stop collisions and stop unnecessary deaths in some instances on our roads. We are elated at the progress so far with the breathalyser coming into full stream in just a few weeks. It was a long and hard journey to get to this position,” she said.

However, the road safety advocate says that now is the time for the education and sensitization programmes for the general public to begin.

She said: “We would like to use that time to really educate persons about the procedures and the benefits of it so that they can buy into it so that they would accept it more and everything would roll out smoothly. Our intention is not for people to have to pay fines or for them to get into collisions. We hope that this will be a deterrent to people so that they won’t drive whilst under the influence.”

Failing a breathalyser test can result in penalties ranging from fines to jail time.

First-time offenders can face a fine of $5,000 or imprisonment for two years, or both on summary conviction, and disqualification from holding or obtaining a second licence. Subsequent convictions can result in a $10,000 fine or five years in prison, or both, and an offender would be disqualified from holding or obtaining a licence for five years after conviction. Any subsequent convictions would result in a permanent ban on having a driver’s licence.

Roland-Bowen praised the move by the Barbados Police Service and pledged her organisation’s commitment to work alongside lawmen to educate the public.

She praised the timing of the launch as the Crop Over season fast approaches.

“With plans for Crop Over in the air and people making plans shortly about where they would be celebrating, when that time comes, we hope that the deterrent effect is in place so that persons would think twice and designate a driver.”