The theme for the 2019 United Nations/World Health Organisation World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims reminds us that ‘Life is not a Car Part’. But as obvious as that statement sounds on the surface,
it is still very surprising to witness the manner in which drivers on our roads recklessly manoeuvre between vehicles at dangerous speeds, even during peak hours. These motorists behave as though they are immune from accidents which we all know can occur in the blink of an eye with a lapse in judgement or minor distraction. In that split second, the dice is rolled and all fates are in the balance as the other passengers in the vehicle and even the unsuspecting ‘bystander’, can become a fatality statistic. In that instant, the reality is brought to bear that life truly cannot be replaced like the parts of a car.
The simple truth is that vehicles are dangerous life-threatening machines and our lives are endangered when we operate them recklessly and mindlessly without care for ourselves and our fellow citizens. But it isn’t just drivers.
We also see pedestrians carelessly and sometimes recklessly crossing the busy highways and indirectly teaching their children and others to think its right do the same. We often see this recklessness occurring on our busy streets in the towns and cities. They too are rolling the dice and putting their lives at risk. Only a few weeks ago there was a viral video clip circulating on social media depicting adults and children carelessly crossing the busy Beetham Highway where the Sealots pedestrian walkover exists right overhead.
These are the level of recklessness to which I allude. The State spent millions of dollars to construct this facility and many more similar types of facilities for the safety of the communities in which they are built and yet, we continue to see painful images of citizens not making use of them at the very cost of their own lives.
Despite all our challenges and continuing to remain true to our responsibilities to provide safe infrastructure for the safety of all, the Ministry of Works and Transport will continue do all within its powers to fight the scourge of road accidents and road deaths. We will not stop until this battle is won. We will not stop until our message pierces every heart and mind to what is right.
For the last 3 years, the Ministry has been on a public education campaign to prepare the society for the unveiling of a new suite of road safety laws that will revolutionise our country. I am referring to the New Fixed Penalty Ticketing System; Demerit Points System and Red Light Camera Enforcement System. I am pleased to report to you that the Software Management System for the integration of the courts, police, licensing office and TTPOST is completed and the digitisation process at the Licensing is almost completed.
Our new Traffic Enforcement Centre is fully operational. Many of our enforcement officers are trained on the system especially, the new mobile ticketing machines which will provide real time access to data and the issuing of fixed penalty tickets. You must observe that the Demerit Points System is not just a system for the suspension of driving permits on the accumulation of demerit points but, it will provide for the rehabilitation of regular offenders and to allow them to re-do their driving regulations etc before their permits are re-issued at the end of their period of suspension.
This is to ensure that we have safe drivers on our roads who understand the importance of safe driving. These systems are being tested as we speak and the results so far are exciting and promising for this country. I invite you to visit the UTURN Booth at this venue and you will witness first-hand what I am referring to. We are now at the dawn of great things that will transform Trinidad and Tobago and make our roads among the safest in the world. We have now crossed the bridge of talk and have moved on to implementation. Ladies and gentlemen, this new system is called the UTURN System because we are making a U turn from our current trends towards a direction of safety for all our citizens.
Thank you to Mrs Sharon Inglefied and Arrive Alive for the support from the moment this was just at policy stage, then to legislation and now implementation. Your support made this a reality. You even made your presence felt in our parliament when we debated this land mark legislation.
Very soon the Bill for Speed Cameras, New RFID Licence Plates and Tint Meters will be debated and passed in Parliament. This bill will also establish a system of parking regulations for persons with disabilities as well as for pedal cyclists.
I want to give the assurance to Arrive Alive and the national community, that your passion is our passion. We are committed to ensuring safer roads. We will continue to modernise our legislative agenda to ensure a safer society.
To familiarize yourself with all of the legislative changes, you can read the legislation which is available on the MOWT website at www.mowt.gov.tt. A keen review of the law will lead you to see that the intent of U-Turn is geared toward changing poor driving behaviour, allowing the authorities to detect frequent offenders and rehabilitating them to become safer road users. I encourage you once again to visit the Ministry’s UTURN booth for information and live demonstration of the system.
For pedestrians, we continue the thrust toward building more infrastructure to make crossing the streets a safer endeavour. In early October, the Ministry of Works and Transport launched the Diego Martin pedestrian bridge. Earlier this week we turned the sod for the construction of yet another pedestrian bridge at the Cipriani College of Labour and Co-operative Studies to allow safe access to Bamboo No. 2, Bamboo No. 3, Prince Charles Street (Valsayn North), Morequito Avenue (Valsayn South) and Cipriani College of Labour and Co-operative Studies. And early in 2020, we look forward to opening the pedestrian bridge at the Waterfront on Wrightson Road in Port of Spain.
However, in as much as I have mentioned some of the road safety initiatives led by the Government, there still remains an onus upon individuals to consider their own responsibility for their personal safety when it comes to driving vehicles and using the roads.
I remember last year when we gathered together for this special day of reminiscences, the pain of losing the riders from the Slipstream Cycling Club were fresh in our hearts. Sad to say, a couple months ago, the Ministry of Works and Transport suffered a loss by road traffic accident with the tragic passing of Ms Janine Carr-Weeks, a Project Manager attached to the Programme for Upgrading Roads Efficiency. Lovingly, she is remembered in the role of daughter, sister, mother, friend and professional mentor to the people she worked with in PURE and the Ministry.
And of course we have the family members and friends of others who have prematurely passed on due to road accidents. They have joined us today to remember all victims of road accidents in Trinidad and Tobago and around the world. Although we can never forget that special someone, we brave the pain to hoist a torch of advocacy every year on the 3rd Sunday in November to help save life in their memory.
As Minister of Works and Transport, I thank you personally for your activism. I remind the nation that no family is immune to the possibility of losing a loved one to a car accident. All of us present here today in some way or the other are fortunate to escape accidents which happen so regularly. Let us commit ever more closely to staying vigilant and safe while traveling. Not only that, but let us also dedicate ourselves to fostering and perpetuating a culture of safety to our peers and the generation behind us because life is indeed not a car part.
As I close, I thank the efforts of Arrive Alive and their volunteers for keeping this yearly event special, relevant and effective. Thank you to our Traffic Wardens, the Traffic Management Branch, the first responders of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS), Trinidad and Tobago Fire Services, EMTs and the other participants at the public education booths, those taking part in the race and other activities. Thank you for the presence of our new Traffic Enforcement Centre staff who has now joined the crusade to save lives through the enforcement of modern laws for safer roads. Enjoy the rest of the day and continue to keep the torch burning in the quest to make our nation’s roads among the safest in the world.
Thank you