Govt under fire for road safety record

By ALISON LOWE

Tribune Staff Reporter

alowe@tribunemedia.net

IN A WEEK in which New Providence recorded three more traffic fatalities, the Government has been accused of being "nothing short of lacklustre" despite "sustained high levels" of road deaths throughout the country.

Glenys Hanna Martin, MP for Englerston and minister of transport and aviation under the former Christie administration, called on the Government to immediately bring enforce seat belt laws passed in 2002 which would allow for drivers to be penalised for their failure to use the potential life-saving device.

Noting that the then-FNM opposition was "very vocal in its criticism" of the PLP government decision to delay the enforcement of the seat belt law in 2002 - a delay the PLP attributed to the government's decision to "review" the law in conjunction with stakeholders - Mrs Hanna Martin said it is therefore "a matter of dismay" for the PLP "that after almost three years in office they have yet to bring that law into force".

"What is even greater cause for dismay is this Government's apparent lack of aggression in general as it relates to issues surrounding road safety. The approach has been nothing short of lackluster in the face of sustained high levels of fatalities," she stated.

Her criticism came on the same day as police reported that a crash which claimed the life of an 18-year-old man last Tuesday has also led to the death of a female who was a passenger in the vehicle at the time.

Police confirmed the victim's identity as Ashanti Johnson, of Golden Gates. According to police press liaison officer Chrislyn Skippings, the young woman was a passenger in the back seat of the car. She succumbed to her injuries shortly before 7am yesterday.

According to initial reports, the crash occurred sometime around 9.33pm last Tuesday on Yamacraw Hill Road. A 2004 green Cadillac Seville with four occupants reportedly ploughed into a cedar tree resulting in the death of 18-year-old Germaine Jeron Forbes, of Bamboo Boulevard, Bamboo Town. Mr Forbes was seated in the rear right-hand side of the car at the time. He died at the scene.

It was reported at that time that three persons - two females and a male - were taken to hospital in serious condition. The driver of the vehicle and a female who was the front seat passenger have been discharged from hospital.

Police are also investigating another crash in the eastern area which claimed the life of a man early Saturday morning. Police say they received reports of a traffic accident on Fox Hill Road and Abner Street, sometime around 1.15am Saturday.

According to reports, the driver of a 2002 silver CRV was traveling north on Fox Hill Road when he lost control of the vehicle and struck a utility pole. This resulted in the vehicle overturning. EMS personnel responded but the driver was pronounced dead. Police are investigating and are expected to confirm the identity of the victim later today.

Speaking in Grand Bahama last week, Minister of Works and Transport Neko Grant said statistics reveal that during 2008, 45 traffic fatalities occurred, of which 22 were people under 25.

Meanwhile, during the past year, some 56 traffic fatalities were recorded - 29 of those involved people in that age group, meaning that young people have consistently made up the majority of all those who die in traffic accidents in The Bahamas in those years.

Mr Grant, who was speaking at a graduation ceremony for young people who had participated in a Safe Driving Simulator Programme - an initiative launched by the Grand Bahama Port Authority - added that the World Health Organisation lists road traffic injuries as the leading cause of death globally among persons aged between 15 and 19, and it also lists injuries as the second leading cause of death globally among persons 10 to 14 years old and 20 to 24 years old.

The Minister said the Road Traffic Department has been engaging in a campaign to promote road safety and reduce traffic accident-related deaths and injuries.

However, Mrs Hanna Martin suggested that more must be done - starting with the enforcement of the seat belt law.

"This carnage on our streets exacts a very high emotional, social and economic toll on our country," she said.

"We call on the Government to bring a more intense focus to this critical area through its relevant agencies so as to increase awareness and raise standards and to now bring into force the seat-belt legislation including the mandatory use of child restraints."

Under the yet-to-be-enforced seat belt legislation passed in Parliament in 2002, any person driving a motor vehicle must be secured by a seatbelt and ensure that any passengers in their car are similarly secured.

The law further demands that children under the age of five must be in a child safety seat when travelling in a car, while older children in the back seat must ride with their seatbelt on.

Anyone found committing such as offence would be liable to a summary conviction and fine of $300. Any passenger other than the driver found not using his seatbelt is liable to a summary conviction and fine of $100.

Motorcycles, omni buses and trucks are exempted from the seat-belt rule, except for in the case of front seat use by the driver and any other passenger sitting alongside the driver.

Published On:Monday, March 15, 2010