Wednesday, July 1 2009

To reduce crime, the Government needs to effectively manage traffic, says the head of the non - governmental organisation, “Arrive Alive”

Kirk Waithe, said management of the country’s roads was the Government’s strong-est and most effective arm of policing.

Speaking at an “Arrive Alive” press conference at Trotter’s Restaurant, St Clair, Port-of-Spain yesterday, Waithe called for laws to be passed against drunk driving and driving while impaired so that the police and licensing officers would be empowered.

He said the “Arrive Alive” group had been doing their part, training members and offering education on road safety tips and traffic laws.

However, he said the Government needed to have stricter laws since people continue to break the laws because they believe the consequences of their actions do not equate the risk.

“Meaningful consequence is needed since people continue to break the law. They believe they would not be caught, or because the risk outweighs the consequences,” explained Waithe.

The number of road fatalities for the year according to the arrivealivett.com website stands at 103 for the year thus far.

The website also provides information on car and road safety, statistics on traffic accidents for the past ten years. It also has pictures of collisions which claimed the lives of many local road-users.