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  • 6 hours ago
Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation Eli Zakour is raising concern over continued reckless driving on the nation's roads, even as several road traffic accidents were recorded over the Easter weekend. He says Government is moving ahead with new initiatives aimed at reducing fatalities and improving road safety.

Nicole M Romany has more.
Transcript
00:00According to Transport Minister Zakul, despite rainy conditions over the Easter weekend,
00:05many motorists continued to drive dangerously, failing to slow down and leaving little distance
00:12between vehicles on the nation's highways. He tells the TV6 Morning Edition, while the number
00:17of incidents appeared especially visible this year, the increased circulation of dash cams
00:23has made dangerous driving more apparent to the public.
00:26And you also have drivers that are not changing their behaviour and still driving recklessly
00:31on our nation's roads. You also have to put into our Cornwall and there are more people
00:37now documenting these accidents by way of their dash cams. A lot more vehicles now have the
00:45front and the rear dash cams. So in the public domain now, you will see a lot more accidents
00:50being posted than ever before.
00:53The minister also tells us there remains no clear evidence that the demerit points system
00:58has significantly reduced reckless driving.
01:01There's no evidence that the demerit points system worked. It was a very unfair process.
01:09Persons with 12, 14 and 15 demerit points were being disqualified and there were persons with
01:16200, 250 plus demerit points still on our nation's roads would all be disqualified, Marlon.
01:23The demerit points system came into effect in I think it was May 2020. In 21, 2022, 2023, 2024 you
01:33saw increases in road fatalities.
01:35However, he says, government is continuing to rule out several measures aimed at improving safety across the nation's roads,
01:43including the installation of new traffic signage, red light camera enforcement and rehabilitation programs.
01:50The National Driver Rehabilitation Programme. Persons who would have lost their driving permit due to the demerit points
01:58can now attend a two-day course for free at license office. So far, 254 persons attended and the pass
02:07rate is 88%.
02:09The minister notes that last month, the government enacted the 2026 amendments to the warning system,
02:16allowing motorists to correct vehicular defects without receiving fixed penalty notice.
02:22He adds that already over 60% of drivers have complied within the first month,
02:28a clear shift from past practices and a positive step towards safer roads.
02:34Nicole M. Romany, TV6 News.
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