PSV owners back new road crash policy but urge impartial oversight

Minibus and route taxi owners on Thursday called for impartial and unbiased oversight of road traffic accidents, even as they backed a new policy that would see police attending only to accidents involving death or serious injuries, with insurance agents managing minor incidents.

The Alliance Owners of Public Transport (AOPT) warned that without such safeguards, the policy’s effectiveness could be compromised.

AOPT President Roy Raphael told Barbados TODAY that while the group welcomed the initiative, especially considering the limited resources available to The Barbados Police Service, there are concerns about the lack of objective oversight for minor accidents. Raphael cautioned that disputes could arise in the absence of an independent body to oversee these cases.

“You may have issues; how do you deal with a dispute, if I am right and you are wrong, or vice versa?” Raphael said. “Because you are insured with John Brown and I am insured with another, what would be the final solution to bring in an independent body to make a decision? A lot of persons [are] involved in these minor accidents, either through negligence or otherwise—how will the insurance justify who is right or wrong? Who will write the report, as an independent body, to say this person is right?”

Raphael suggested that an independent traffic officer, though not necessarily a police officer, could be assigned to handle such disputes.

His concerns echo those of the Barbados Road Safety Association (BRSA), whose president recently stressed the importance of impartial officials at accident scenes, even in minor cases.

Raphael also expressed hope that the new policy would allow police resources to be redirected towards tackling delinquent behaviour among public service vehicle (PSV) operators. He highlighted the need for greater police presence on the roads to address the reckless behaviour of PSV drivers.

“What I am thinking is that now we would like to see more police presence on the roads of Barbados to deal with the infractions of the PSVs because we continue to see an increased number of persons in the sector continuing to be reckless,” Raphael said. “It is really concerning to us as an association.

“Yes, everybody is there to make money, but people must not come into the sector to create issues for themselves and members of the public. Now that the police have freed some of their members from dealing with these accidents, we would like to see more police on the road dealing with traffic issues.”

He singled out Speightstown and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital as being particularly affected by PSV operators who regularly block the flow of area traffic to pick up passengers.

His comments were supported by AOPT Director of Public Communications and Public Affairs Mark Haynes, who also called for tougher action against bad behaviour in the industry. 

“In respect of the bad behaviour on the buses which concerns the Alliance Owners of Public Transport, I think reasonable Barbadians would know that this is something that is not right—the behaviour is not right,” Haynes said. 

shamarblunt@barbadostoday.bb