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Adonis vows tougher action against drunk drivers
– as “Operation Road Order” gathers momentum
The name “Operation Road Order” may not have sunk in yet for many motorists but more than a dozen drivers, who probably felt that they could take a little more than a few drinks and get away with
it, will have the penalty etched in their memory for a long time.
Acting Traffic Chief Kevin Adonis
While the campaign which is aimed at reducing the carnage on the country’s roads is still in its fledgling stage, motorists felt its impact over the weekend.
The Police Traffic Department reported that over the weekend, 13 drivers were caught driving while over the prescribed limit of alcohol consumption.
And if Acting Traffic Chief Kevin Adonis sticks to his word, drivers had better take notice, for the police intend to get tougher with errant motorists.
“Operation Road Order” is focusing specifically on speeding and driving under the influence of alcohol, which according to Commissioner of Police (ag) Leroy Brumell are the main causes of fatal accidents.
The initial campaign against drunk driving commenced in earnest in 2009 after legislation was put in place to deal with it.
According to the provisions of the law, there will be a limit of 35 microgrammes of alcohol to 100 millilitres of breath and 80 milligrammes of alcohol to 100 millilitres of blood. This is equivalent to about two beers.
If an accident occurs as a result of a motor vehicle on the road, the police will be vested with the authority to order the drivers to submit to breathalyser tests either at the scene or in a nearby police station.
But according to Superintendent Adonis, the Force will be more pro-active.
“We will not only wait until an accident occurs before we administer the (breathalyzer) test. We will be targeting those drivers who leave the bars drunk and jump into their vehicles,” Adonis said in a telephone interview last week, shortly after Brumell had addressed the media on the issue.
According to the law, any person who contravenes the law shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine of seven thousand five hundred dollars. Unless a court considers otherwise, a repeat conviction will attract a 12-month disqualification from holding a licence. A third conviction will result in the motorist being permanently disqualified from holding or obtaining a licence.
A number of road safety groups have been promoting the use of designated drivers in cases where motorists insisted on drinking.
A designated driver is someone who abstains from alcohol consumption during social outings in order to safely transport their companions to their destinations.
Figures up to last week showed that there were 59 deaths on the country’s roads compared with 45 for the same period last year.
“This is of concern to us and we have increased our traffic presence on the roads as well as enhancing our traffic education via the media, schools and other avenues,” Commissioner Brumell explained recently.
But a few observers believe that the ranks placed on the roads should focus more on actual traffic violations and not just examine documents.
“Stopping vehicles and examining documents don’t prevent accidents, they only aggravate the citizens, many of whom really want to assist the police to be successful in their campaign,” a local attorney at law told this newspaper.
Under the current police reform process, the Force has set some key target activities which include researching and proposing an approach to managing an increase in vehicle ownership; review traffic legislation and reduce the overall number of traffic accidents.
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