Transport Minister Glenys Hanna-Martin last night foreshadowed a new drivers’ education programme for high school seniors, which police hope might cut down on the number of traffic fatalities. <\/P><\/p>\n
Speaking to hundreds of delegates attending the Progressive Liberal Party’s 47th National Convention, the Transport Minister said during this legislative session, the government also intends to bring to Parliament a Bill to Amend the seat belt legislation. <\/P><\/p>\n
It will review the level of fines imposed on failure to use seatbelts. <\/P><\/p>\n
Mrs. Hanna-Martin did not say whether the proposed legislation would increase or decrease the new fines that came into effect this summer. <\/P><\/p>\n
Many felt the fines were too high. <\/P><\/p>\n
The Road Traffic Amendment Act 2002 stipulates a fine of $100 for a driver not wearing a seatbelt and $300 for each passenger not using the safety device. Any child under five who is not constrained in the back seat with a seat belt is a $500 fine. <\/P><\/p>\n
Minister Hanna-Marting voiced her “particular concern” over the alarming rate of traffic accidents and those that results in fatality. <\/P><\/p>\n
“This year alone 42 productive human beings perished on our streets,” Mrs. Hanna-Martin said. <\/P><\/p>\n
“This is not acceptable and we are looking at ways to arrest this carnage including the introduction of a driver education programme in all schools at the twelfth grade level.”
<\/p>\n
Three young Bahamians were killed recently in two separate accidents and others were critically injured. <\/P><\/p>\n
Police are welcoming the proposed drivers’ education classes. <\/P><\/p>\n
Officer in Charge of the Police Road Traffic Department, Assistant Superintendent of Police Willard Cunningham said, “If the traffic laws and driver’s laws are taught in primary or secondary school, I feel it would reduce fatal and serious accidents in the Commonwealth of Bahamas . <\/P><\/p>\n
“It’s a very good initiative and we will reap great dividends in the future.” <\/P><\/p>\n
On August 31, six teenagers were seriously injured when their SUV slammed into a wall just east of the Harbour Bay Shopping Centre on East Bay Street . <\/P><\/p>\n
One teenager, 16-year-old Vanessa Fox died. <\/P><\/p>\n
And on November 3, another two teenagers died when their car crashed into a trailer truck. Themelis Miaoulis, 19, and Mario Aranha, 18, <\/P><\/p>\n
Over the past two years, traffic deaths have fallen from 76, in 2000, to 56 in 2001. <\/P><\/p>\n
Police are attributing the drop in traffic fatalities over the past two years to a beefed up presence on the streets. <\/P><\/p>\n
In an effort to deter so-called speed demons, the Royal Bahamas Police Force – in conjunction with the Ministry of Transport and Texaco Bahamas – has acquired a monitoring device called a smart tracker, which tracks speed as well as displays traffic messages. <\/p>\n
By Tosheena Blair,The Bahama Journal<\/B><\/P><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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