MP: Introduce breathalyser testing to curb road accidents

Breathalyser testing should be introduced as a matter of urgency to address the rising number of unexplained road accidents and improve safety for all road users, a government backbencher has told Parliament.

Agreeing that tint regulations were necessary as lawmakers moved to tighten the regulations in the House of Assembly on Tuesday, St Michael South Central MP Marsha Caddle insisted that it is time to deal with a “suite” of other matters, including the introduction of breathalyser testing.

“It is time to get on with it,”  she asserted in the House.

Caddle said there was a prevailing practice on the island of attending events, consuming alcohol, and then driving without considering whether one was sober enough to do so. She insisted that there must be a change in this behaviour, with drivers expecting they could be pulled over by police and tested at any time.

Highlighting that there were too many unexplained accidents occurring on the streets, she called for breathalyser testing to be introduced, at least on a pilot basis, to protect road users.

She said: “We know the spirit of Crop Over–fete to fete to fete—and sometimes you do not check yourself to see if you are fit to drive. Let the authorities do it, and if we start, and if people know that at any minute they can expect it, then it starts to change behaviour, Sir. It is time. There are too many accidents happening on the road that we cannot explain.”

The minister also expressed concern for early morning walkers, runners, and cyclists who feel unsafe as partygoers return home. 

“It is time for us to be able to explain and hold people accountable,” she said. “It does not mean that we lose the character of our Barbados. But I will tell you what—you might go to a fete near home if you want to drink, because you might have to walk home. You do a lot less damage that way. Just walk in a straight line and go home if you can make it, but do not get behind the wheel. That is not cultural, and I will not accept that it is cultural.”

Rejecting the idea that Bajans can tell when they’re intoxicated, she said: “No, you do not know when you are drunk. No, you do not know when you are under the influence of any other substance. You do not know. Somebody has to tell you, and eventually, once we introduce these kinds of changes, people will start to get a better sense of safety and security because there is good order on our roads, and that is what this legislation supports,” she said.

During the debate on the amendment to the Road Traffic Act to introduce tint regulations, Caddle pointed out that there was a package of “bread and butter issues contributing to citizen security and citizen safety” on the roads, including enforcing the prohibition of holding a mobile phone while driving, proper signage, and the introduction of a demerit system for public service vehicle drivers that should be considered.

The MP also raised concerns about the issue of persons seeking to sell vehicles over 10 years old being required to take the vehicle to the Barbados Licensing Authority (BLA) in The Pine for inspection, rather than to certain established garages. She stated that this would once again create bottlenecks at the BLA, which already experiences capacity issues.

She also noted that some members of the public were concerned about the roadworthiness of vehicles over ten years old being judged on cosmetic grounds.

Caddle said: “There are structural issues in vehicles that mean they are not roadworthy, that they are likely not to function on the road and cause issues. And then there are cosmetic issues that, arguably, a person who is hanging on to an old vehicle that they have finished paying for, that they cannot afford to replace, that they are just trying to keep running so that they can do their work, cannot then be expected to go and come out of pocket to make it look pretty.” (JB)