A nine-year-old girl is among four people who were killed when a SUV in which they were travelling ran off the Sir Solomon Hochoy Highway in the vicinity of Claxton Bay shortly before midnight on Saturday.
00:00A nine-year-old girl is among four who were killed when an SUV in which they were traveling ran off the Sir Solomon Hojoy Highway in the vicinity of Claxton Bay shortly before midnight on Saturday.
00:14According to a police report, the driver appeared to have lost control of the vehicle, which veered off the shoulder and flipped and rolled into a grassy area.
00:25The police say initial reports suggest speed was a factor.
00:29The deceased who were all thrown from the vehicle have been identified as Steve Alda of Canoopia, who was driving, Kizzy Cato of Laventil, Kathleen Wright and a nine-year-old minor.
00:43A fifth person, a male front seat passenger, is said to be in serious condition in the hospital.
00:49And Officer Brent Batson of the Police Traffic Branch is calling for an amendment to the law on seatbelts to include backseat passengers.
01:00I also want to again remind persons the importance, the importance of wearing seatbelts.
01:08You know, we, we, some of the bodies that were, were, were thrown, you know, from the vehicle, you know.
01:15Yes, it's not law that, that we wear, um, seatbelts in the backseat, but it, it can make a major difference.
01:22I always have to remind persons, once you're ejected from that vehicle, you have a 75% chance of being killed in a road traffic accident, on impact.
01:32So, you know, we, we even welcome legislation, we've been supporting, you know, rare seatbelts as well.
01:37But we, we look forward to, um, you know, strategizing together, um, with the Ministry of Works, Infrastructure and Transport.
01:46Officer Batson is also hoping that when the demerit point system is discarded by the new government,
01:53effective measures will be put in place to ensure that there is road safety in Trinidad and Tobago.
02:00And our job is to enforce the policies set forth, um, by the legislature and the authority states.
02:05Um, the, the demerit point system is a, a driver management system that we designed to do with what we call driver recidivism in the system.
02:14And it's the ready to deter re-offending, so, um, so that, you know, it's not just getting, paying a ticket and then, you know,
02:21we are doing the same type of drive and paying a ticket again, you know, so it's some sort of consequence.
02:27Um, we, we'll be guided by what, um, what policies may be put in place to try and deal with it.
02:34Uh, we are waiting to see what's the options.
02:38I know it's a licensing issue and, and, um, but we, uh, we've sent policy directive.
02:44Uh, we welcome, remember the demerit point system is another tool, um, and, and, and, and, uh, like I said, in deterrent re-offending, uh, by traffic violations.
02:54But, um, uh, you, you know, once, once strategies are in place and, and this is an international best practice, um, so, but we, we, we'll be so guided.
03:05We look forward to meeting in a collaborative way to see, um, what, what other options are available to, to see how we deal with it.
03:13Because, and we, we're, we're all about, our, our job in the CTPS is injury and harm reduction.
03:19So, any tools in our arsenal which can make us achieve that goal is, um, is what we are willing to embrace.
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