Winnipeg Canada police arrest 55 drunk drivers since December 3rd. Barbados police arrest…?

Traffic Division Inspector Blades: How many drunk drivers did Barbados Police fail to stop?

With about double the population of Barbados, the city of Winnipeg, Canada makes for an interesting comparison when it comes to arresting drunk drivers.

Since December 3rd, the Winnipeg Police have stopped 1,422 vehicles in their annual month-long Christmas crackdown on drinking and driving. So far they have arrested 55 drunk drivers, of which 51 were male. The average age is 34 years old.

During the same period the Royal Barbados Police arrested this many drunk drivers…

How many more have to die before Barbados gets modern breathalyzer laws?

Another Two-Bus Crash Injures 22 – Once again Barbados Police cannot determine if drivers had been drinking

Fortunately no one died in Tuesday’s bus crash in Christ Church but 22 people were injured – three seriously enough to be taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. (Nation News: 22 hurt in 2 bus crash)

Mass casualty accidents are bound to happen and with big wide buses on our narrow roads we seem to have more than our share of public transit accidents. What never changes is the fact that successive BLP and DLP governments have promised but never acted to provide modern anti-drunk driving laws and breathalyzer testing for drivers suspected of drinking.

Consequently our police have no authority and no tools to curtail drunk driving. Unless a driver is a falling down drunk, there is no law broken in Barbados and even then it is the officer’s word against the driver’s word.

How much was death car driver drinking? Barbados police have no idea

Barbados has no breathalyzer law

On Sunday afternoon, Errol Briggs walked across Spring Garden Highway from the beach and was struck by a vehicle driven by Preston Parris. Mr. Briggs was taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital but was found to be dead upon arrival.

The gruesome photo published in the Barbados Advocate (see above) shows the rear window of the Parris auto smashed out with blood covering the rear of the car and running onto the road. It must have been some impact and such that (hopefully) Mr. Briggs did not suffer.

Speaker of the House Michael Carrington calls for Barbados breathalyser law

Every year more people are killed in road accidents in Barbados than are murdered, yet successive BLP and DLP governments refuse to implement breathalyser equipment and modern laws to protect people from drunk drivers.

The first job of government is to protect the citizens, and successive BLP and DLP governments have failed to protect the citizens when it comes to people who drink and drive.

Six dead at the Joes River tour bus crash, four more dead in the Emancipation Day crash and others. But in these and other serious crashes since, aside from an autopsy, Barbados Police have no way of proving how much an involved driver has been drinking.

That is because our government has been negligent in providing the legal structure and the equipment that the police need to protect us all.

… from the BFP article Barbados Bus Crash Injures 59 – Police Cannot Determine If Drivers Had Been Drinking

Can MP Michael Carrington lead the way? Will the Health & Transport Ministers join him?

We see in today’s Barbados Advocate that Speaker of the House and MP for St. Michael West signed a petition calling for the government to enact breathalyser laws.

Signing was an excellent gesture by Mr. Carrington and we hope that he continues to push for his government to finally do something about the carnage on our roads.

His next step should perhaps be to speak with Health Minister Donville Innis who exhibited a definite “take it or leave it – not really interested” attitude to breathalyser laws when Mr. Innis last talked with Barbados Free Press about the subject in December of 2009.

I don’t know why this should be so difficult because breathalysers will save lives, and both the law and the technology are relatively cheap, quick and easy to implement. It’s not like we have to invent anything or do much more than copy and paste laws from other countries with a little tweaking for our culture and court system.

Maybe if folks at Parliament could leave their pistols at home and stay sober for a couple of days we could get this law passed! (sorry… couldn’t help it.)

Further Reading

Dec 21, 2009 – Barbados Health Minister Donville Inniss: Breathalyzer Law & Equipment not necessary

Oct 5, 2009 – The Failure of DLP and BLP Governments to protect Bajans from dangerous & drunk drivers

November 22, 2008: Barbados Bus Crash Injures 59 – Police Cannot Determine If Drivers Had Been Drinking

November 22, 2007 – Five Year Sentence For Dangerous Driver – But Still No Breathalyzer Law

October 30, 2007 – More Road Deaths Than Murders: Yet Barbados Still Does Not Have Breathalyzer Laws Or Technology

August 15, 2007 – Minister of Transport Gline Clarke Finally “Talking” About Driver Breathaliser Tests – As First Suggested By By Barbados Free Press Over A Year Ago

July 25, 2006 – Barbados Government To Ban Cell Phones While Driving

Top photo: Barbados Advocate

Bottom: Nation News

January 11, 2010 court date in Cyclist’s Death – Barbados Police unable to say how much accused had been drinking

Another fatal accident in Barbados with no sobriety test for the driver

The man charged in cyclist Percival Niles’ death on December 5th is now released on bail until the next court date of January 11, 2010. Tremaine Peter Sargeant is charged with driving a motor vehicle in a manner dangerous to the public.

Once again officers of the Royal Barbados Police Force are unable to perform a complete professional motor vehicle accident investigation because successive DLP and BLP governments have not seen fit to pass modern anti-drunk driving laws and provide the police with breathalyzer equipment.

No Money for Breathalyzers, but lots for Rich Racing Horse Owners!

About a year ago though, Prime Minister David Thompson and his government gave NINETEEN MILLION of YOUR tax dollars to the Barbados Turf Club so the big boys could continue to have fun with their hobby horses.

That’s priorities for you. What are the deaths of a few Bajans compared with keeping the Dom Perignon champagne flowing at the Barbados Turf Club?

Further Reading at BFP…

Barbados Government Gives $19 Million To Rich Racing Horse Owners As It Pleads For International Funds

Trinidad & Tobago implements Breathalyzer law – Barbados government fails to protect citizens from drunken driving

Barbados Health Minister Donville Inniss: Breathalyzer Law & Equipment not necessary

Another Drinking Driver gets off easy because Barbados Police lack Breathalyzers

Attorney General Stuart, Prime Minister Thompson, Transport Minister Boyce

Hit & Run, Drinking Driver fined only $750 for Second Offense

Thanks to successive BLP and DLP governments’ neglect of road safety and their failure to implement breathalyzer laws and equipment, Awadh Narayn Inder was fined only $750 for a hit and run accident on Christmas Eve. Oh… it’s Inder’s second offense.

The arresting police officer stated that Inder was “under the influence” but unfortunately, you know how it is in Barbados. Unless a driver is falling down drunk the police have no recourse because unlike other countries that implement anti-drinking driving measures, in Barbados it’s okay to drink and drive if you can still stand up.

Everyone knows that a drinking driver can look okay and still be dangerous, but in Barbados without breathalyzer laws and equipment the standard for sobriety is “He can stand up on his own.”

What a joke…

The judge warned Inder to “stop drinking and driving” – a hollow threat if ever we’ve heard one. Not that Inder cares: this is the second time he’s been caught. In some places in the USA, Britain or Canada he’d be in jail, his car would be sold at auction and he’d be prohibited from driving for three years or more.

In Barbados with no effective laws and our cultural acceptance of drinking and driving, Mr. Inder and folks like him are barely inconvenienced by getting drunk, running into someone and driving away and hiding. Even when caught the second time the penalty is nothing to be frightened of, so pass the bottle and to hell with the police and the courts.

To Owen Arthur, Mia Mottley, David Thompson and a series of Attorneys General: the victims and the families of the dead and injured say “Thanks for nothing.”

Today’s Drinking Driver: Awadh Narayn Inder

Here’s the story from The Nation newspaper…

AFTER Awadh Narayn Inder hit a car on Tweedside Road, St Michael, on Christmas Eve he did not stop to inspect the damage, exchange numbers with the other driver, or call the police.

Instead, the 33-year-old labourer, of Sobers Lane, St Michael, bolted from the scene and got as far as the Belle Estate, where he parked the car in a dark spot trying to elude the driver who pursued him.

Appearing before Acting Magistrate Laurie-Ann Smith-Bovell in the Bridgetown Traffic Court yesterday, Inder admitted that he unlawfully drove vehicle X8322 on Tweedside Road without due care and attention.

She slapped Inder with a $750 fine payable in six weeks, or 14 days in HMP Dodds, and warned him to “stop drinking and driving”…

… continue reading this article at The Nation Fined $750 for hit-and-run

Further Reading at BFP

Barbados Health Minister Donville Inniss: Breathalyzer Law & Equipment not necessary

Trinidad & Tobago implements Breathalyzer law – Barbados government fails to protect citizens from drunken driving

Barbados Health Minister Donville Inniss: Breathalyzer Law & Equipment not necessary

Donville Inniss: Dead Wrong

UPDATED: December 22, 2009

Minister of Health Inniss comments on Barbados Free Press?

Video added should be required viewing for Minister Inniss & his fellow MPs

As our readers can see, a person claiming to be Minister of Health Donville Inniss commented upon this article. BFP’s editors changed the name on the comment from “Donville Inniss” to “Is this Donville Inniss?” until we are sure of the author.

BFP has asked for confirmation via an email sent from the Minister’s official office. Although we have yet to receive a confirming email, there are other indications that the comment might indeed be from Minister Inniss.

If and when we receive confirmation, we’ll let our readers know. Until then, please take the comment with a grain of salt.

Cliverton

Original Article…

I know Marcus just said we’d be happy and ignore government er, people, for Christmas time but for me that promise lasted about 5 minutes after picking up today’s Barbados Advocate. See page 14.

We’ll get into the details after Christmas, but the short story is that Barbados Minister of Health Donville Inniss says this about drinking and driving…

“I think that at the end of the day, we do not need additional legislation – there are a lot of laws on the statute books already. What we need is for persons to exercise caution and to be very respectful of other road users.”

Mr. Inniss: you are dead wrong.

Robert

This Australian anti-drunk driving video should be required watching for Minister Inniss and his fellow government members…

(A big thanks to one of our longtime readers who recommended the video to us!)

Further Reading

Trinidad & Tobago implements Breathalyzer law – Barbados government fails to protect citizens from drunken driving

Here is the Barbados Advocate article that the quote from Minister of Health Donville Inniss was taken from, so readers can view everything the Minister said in context as reported by the journalist “JRT” whose initials are at the bottom of the article…

(click to read full size)

The Failure of DLP and BLP Governments to protect Bajans from dangerous & drunk drivers

Former Useless Transport Minister Gline Clark, Former Useless Attorneys General Mia Mottley & Dale Marshall

Successive Barbados Governments all talk as drunken road slaughter continues

The first job of government is to protect the citizens, and successive BLP and DLP governments have failed to protect the citizens when it comes to people who drink and drive.

Six dead at the Joes River tour bus crash, four more dead in the Emancipation Day crash and others. But in these and other serious crashes since, aside from an autopsy, Barbados Police have no way of proving how much an involved driver has been drinking.

That is because our government has been negligent in providing the legal structure and the equipment that the police need to protect us all.

… from the BFP article Barbados Bus Crash Injures 59 – Police Cannot Determine If Drivers Had Been Drinking

The Barbados Labour Party had three terms and 14 years to deal with the slaughter on our roads and they did nothing. Barbados has no effective anti-drinking and driving laws. Short of a driver being falling down drunk, our police have no recourse because there are no laws to enforce. Even with a mass traffic death our police have no law to compel a driver to prove their sobriety, and no equipment even if such laws existed.

As Transport Minister in 2006, Gline Clarke talked about banning the use of cell phones while driving and of introducing breathalyzer laws and equipment. Mia Mottley and Dale Marshall both promised to introduce breathalyzer laws – but those promises were only words that came up every time we had a mass road death.

Nothing by shite talking, for sure.

As a matter of fact, let’s change the photos to reflect reality, shall we? Here is a photo of the three promising to do something about the road slaughter…

There. That’s a much truer picture of these three who pretended to care, who pretended to be doing something about the road slaughter. They are LIARS who promised breathalyser laws and hands-free cell phone laws for drivers. Check out their own BLP blog if you don’t believe us!

Now let’s look at the current bunch of do-nothings.

Minister of Public Works and Transport John Boyce has had almost two years to implement breathalyzer legislation and other needed changes to the road traffic regulations but has done nothing. Oh ya, in the weekend papers Boyce says he’s “talking” about changes with the police.

That’s nice.

That’s also what Mottley and Arthur and Clark and Marshall said once a year every year.

I guess it must be that time of year with the DLP government because they talked about these changes last year too.

Attorney General Freundel Stuart, Prime Minister David Thompson and Transport Minister John Boyce have blood on their hands and instead of action we see more of the same promises that we’ve been seeing from successive governments for two decades.

You can believe Stuart, Thompson and Boyce if you want to. I’d love to be proven wrong – but I don’t believe a word they say anymore.

Further Reading

October 4, 2009 – Nation News: Cops’ Call

October 4, 2009 – Nation News: Put brakes on cells

September 13, 2009: Which DLP Government Official wrote this Barbados Advocate Editorial?

November 22, 2008: Barbados Bus Crash Injures 59 – Police Cannot Determine If Drivers Had Been Drinking

November 22, 2007 – Five Year Sentence For Dangerous Driver – But Still No Breathalyzer Law

October 30, 2007 – More Road Deaths Than Murders: Yet Barbados Still Does Not Have Breathalyzer Laws Or Technology

August 15, 2007 – Minister of Transport Gline Clarke Finally “Talking” About Driver Breathaliser Tests – As First Suggested By By Barbados Free Press Over A Year Ago

July 25, 2006 – Barbados Government To Ban Cell Phones While Driving

Which DLP Government Official wrote this Barbados Advocate Editorial? (or should we say “this DLP Advertisement”?)

“… At present, the government is doing all it can to improve road safety and traffic flow. However no improvement will have any effect if Barbadians continue to drive reckless!”

… from the Barbados Advocate newspaper editorial Slow Down!

The Barbados Advocate declares war on criticism of the DLP Thompson Government

That’s it folks. No further comment is needed about the government’s policies and actions concerning road safety, roads or traffic flow. The editors of the Barbados Advocate have looked into everything and declared “the government is doing all it can…”

Yup. That’s it right there. Might as well shut down the blogs, the competitive Nation newspaper and disband the Barbados Road Safety Association. The Barbados Advocate says the government has it all under control and “is doing all it can…”

Were Transport Drivers Drinking Or Hung Over? Barbados Police Lack Breathaliser Equipment & Laws To Properly Investigate The Accident

Strangely absent from the editorial is any mention of the absence of modern drinking and driving laws in Barbados despite promises by successive DLP and BLP governments over the last 25 years. Also absent is any acknowledgment that we pay our police officers so little that we are one hundred officers under authorized strength. Very few quality people want to be a Barbados police officer and that shortage means that traffic enforcement is neglected.

The worst of it is that when a serious motor vehicle accident happens, our police officers lack the laws, technology and training to determine if alcohol played a factor. Barbados Free Press has been calling for breathaliser laws and equipment for the police for approaching four years now. In that time we have seen some horrible accidents and even mass fatal accidents – but our law enforcement officers still have no way of testing to see how much those drivers had been drinking. Short of falling down drunk, there is no law against drinking and driving in Barbados.

As we said almost a year ago when we criticised the Thompson DLP government for doing nothing about the slaughter on our roads…

The first job of government is to protect the citizens, and successive BLP and DLP governments have failed to protect the citizens when it comes to people who drink and drive.

Six dead at the Joes River tour bus crash, four more dead in the Emancipation Day crash and others. But in these and other serious crashes since, aside from an autopsy, Barbados Police have no way of proving how much an involved driver has been drinking.

That is because our government has been negligent in providing the legal structure and the equipment that the police need to protect us all.

… from the BFP article Barbados Bus Crash Injures 59 – Police Cannot Determine If Drivers Had Been Drinking

Attorney General Stuart, Prime Minister Thompson, Transport Minister Boyce

Three Men Who Could Have Saved Lives But Chose Not To

Prime Minister David Thompson, Attorney General Freundel Stuart and Minister of Transportation John Boyce did nothing in the past nineteen months to introduce breathalyzer laws and equipment to Barbados, or to stop the drunken slaughter on our roads every weekend that kills outright or cripples people for life and destroys faces, families and livelihoods.

They have no reasonable excuse for not doing so.

Further Reading at Barbados Free Press

November 22, 2008: Barbados Bus Crash Injures 59 – Police Cannot Determine If Drivers Had Been Drinking

November 22, 2007 – Five Year Sentence For Dangerous Driver – But Still No Breathalyzer Law

October 30, 2007 – More Road Deaths Than Murders: Yet Barbados Still Does Not Have Breathalyzer Laws Or Technology

August 15, 2007 – Minister of Transport Gline Clarke Finally “Talking” About Driver Breathaliser Tests – As First Suggested By By Barbados Free Press Over A Year Ago

July 25, 2006 – Barbados Government To Ban Cell Phones While Driving

Barbados Bus Crash Injures 59 – Police Cannot Determine If Drivers Had Been Drinking

Barbados Police Lack Breathaliser Equipment & Laws To Properly Investigate Road Accidents

Thompson DLP Government Continues BLP Policy Of Doing Nothing To Stop Drunk Driving

A major crash between two buses and an auto yesterday left dozens injured, and just like the other major bus and auto crashes during the past three years our Barbados police do not have the breathalizer equipment or laws that would show if any of the drivers had been drinking.

We lose more people to drunk driving than we do to murder, but after eleven months in office, the Thompson DLP Government has done nothing to address the serious problem that our country lacks enforceable, modern drunk-driving laws.

In practically every civilized jurisdiction in the world when there has been an accident and the police suspect the driver might have had even one beer, the driver has to blow into a breathalizer machine to prove how much alcohol is in his or her body. We know that some people can drink lots and not “look” like they are drunk, but they shouldn’t be driving. The breathalizer provides scientific evidence so there is no doubt.

Barbados Free Press has been calling for breathaliser laws and equipment for the police for almost three years now. In that time we have seen some horrible accidents and even mass fatal accidents – but our law enforcement officers have no way of testing to see how much those drivers had been drinking. Short of falling down drunk, there is no law against drinking and driving in Barbados.

The first job of government is to protect the citizens, and successive BLP and DLP governments have failed to protect the citizens when it comes to people who drink and drive.

Six dead at the Joes River tour bus crash, four more dead in the Emancipation Day crash and others. But in these and other serious crashes since, aside from an autopsy, Barbados Police have no way of proving how much an involved driver has been drinking.

That is because our government has been negligent in providing the legal structure and the equipment that the police need to protect us all.

Back in July of this year, BFP said…

Prime Minister Thompson… time to act, Sir. If your government can’t implement breathalizer laws during the first year of your term, that will pretty well say everything about your priorities and leadership.

Attorney General Stuart, Prime Minister Thompson, Transport Minister Boyce

Three Men Who Could Have Saved Lives In Barbados But Chose Not To

Prime Minister David Thompson, Attorney General Freundel Stuart and Minister of Transportation John Boyce did nothing in the past year to introduce breathalyzer laws and equipment to Barbados, or to stop the drunken slaughter on our roads every weekend that kills outright or cripples people for life and destroys faces, families and livelihoods.

They have no reasonable excuse for not doing so.

During the past year, they could have obtained already-crafted legislation from any number of sources, and purchased equipment and trained police officers as the legislation was being finalised. Six months, tops.

Civilized jurisdictions all over the world have amassed tens thousands of legal cases, trials, reports, and committees to develop modern laws, training and operational standards for the police and the courts. The breathaliser technology itself is now computerised, mass produced, more accurate and cheaper than it has ever been. Roadside screening units for uniform patrol officers can be had for a few hundred dollars. The laws in British common law countries are decades old… been through the Supreme Courts and back again.

All that is readily available if our government gave a damn.

Like the previous BLP Government, the Thompson DLP Government seems to have trouble actually making things happen. Lots of cheap talk, but no real achievements to make life better and safer for Bajans.

Further Reading

Nation Newspaper – 59 Injured In Bus Accident

CBC – Scores Injured In Bus Accident

BFP…

November 22, 2007 – Five Year Sentence For Dangerous Driver – But Still No Breathalyzer Law

October 30, 2007 – More Road Deaths Than Murders: Yet Barbados Still Does Not Have Breathalyzer Laws Or Technology

August 15, 2007 – Minister of Transport Gline Clarke Finally “Talking” About Driver Breathaliser Tests – As First Suggested By By Barbados Free Press Over A Year Ago

July 25, 2006 – Barbados Government To Ban Cell Phones While Driving