The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

AFTER a string of fatalities towards the end of 2020, Grand Bahama police have rolled out a traffic safety initiative aiming to have zero traffic deaths this year.

Supt Jeremy Henfield, the officer in charge of the Traffic Division in Grand Bahama, is pushing for the target after road deaths in Grand Bahama reached double digits last year.

Supt Henfield said police are concerned about the lives lost on the streets. The new initiative, which includes monthly island-wide road checks and speed checks, will save lives and ensure that streets are safe, he believes.

“Our push this year is to have no fatalities in 2021 – none,” Supt Henfield said during the recent official launch at the roundabout at Coral Road and East Sunrise Highway.

“This morning we are out here to initiate our first road traffic safety initiative for 2021. This comes on the heels of a number of fatalities we had in the past year of 2020 and…this is of grave concern to us – we are losing too many persons to our streets.

“In the last five fatalities, we lost five young men all under the age of 30 years old. So, this is a serious matter. We are here on serious business to say to the motoring public to slow down because speed kills.”

Supt Henfield added: “We are rolling out one initiative every month for the entire year. This is a major island-wide operation. We are taking it very seriously; we can’t afford to lose any more of our young people to the streets.”

The initiative will also take place simultaneously in Bimini and Abaco.

He also said with the COVID-19 emergency orders still in place, licensing of vehicles has been extended.

He noted that motorists using extensions while awaiting licensing of their vehicles should have valid insurance coverage, a valid driver’s licence, and certificate of title for their vehicles on hand if they are stopped by officers during road and speed checks.

He said police visibility will be high on the streets.

“We ask drivers to bear with us as we try to save as many lives as possible,” Supt Henfield added. “We are not going to hold you up long, we just want to check your documents and you will be on your way.”

Supt Henfield reported that speeding is still a major issue on Grand Bahama streets.

“We did speed checks and I can tell you last week alone, we recorded 300 plus persons for the week – that’s 300 in one week,” he said.

Supt Henfield said the speed devices that are being utilised by traffic police are very accurate.

“People have concerns about the devices picking up two vehicles at the same time,” he stated.

He is appealing to people to bear with the police during the road check operations.

“We have been doing this for a while and this is nothing new, and I am saying that these checks we are making will save lives. When the commissioner speaks, you will hear just how many weapons were taken off (the street), how many cases were solved through these same checks. People are complaining, but it works.”

Supt Henfield said that they are also looking at ways to reward good drivers. “We will launch a good driver award to reward those good drivers on our streets,” he said.