Transport Minister Stephen Cadiz says the increased penalties for traffic violations have led to a 50 per cent decrease in drunk driving cases and road fatalities over Carnival Monday and Tuesday.
Lauding the public and police for their diligence at yesterday’s post-Cabinet media briefing at the San Fernando Teaching Hospital, Cadiz said police officers did more breathalyser tests over the Carnival season.
“There were zero road traffic deaths for this Carnival period and last year there was in fact one. Moreso on the issue of the driving under the influence, we feel the new fines has made a significant dent into people wanting to drive under the influence of alcohol.
“There were 12 people actually arrested in 2015 as against 23 people in 2014. In speaking with the police, they said they conducted far more breathalyser tests than they had done before. For instance on Machel Monday, there were actually 230 tests done so it is not to say because there were less convictions or people being charges for driving under the influence.
“The fact is that the new fines that have been put in place is a major step towards people not wanting to drive drunk,” Cadiz said. The fines were increased two weeks before Carnival from $8,000 for a first offence to $12,000 and from $15,00 to $22,500 for a second offence.
He said more people were now aware of the penalties and the effects of irresponsible drunk driving. He said many party goers chose to designate a driver or use maxi taxis or the PTSC service.
Giving further statistics, he said PTSC transported over 12,800 people on Carnival Tuesday while the Inter-Island Ferry Service moved 17,365 commuters between Trinidad and Tobago from February 12 to Ash Wednesday, excluding Carnival Monday.
He added that the amount of vehicles on the inter-island ferry increased from 4,000 in 2014 to 8,400 in 2015. (KF)