Tougher laws

PROPOSED AMENDMENTS to Barbados’ archaic road traffic laws have been welcomed by the Barbados Road Safety Association and the two main umbrella bodies for public service vehicle (PSV) operators.

However, Morris Lee, chairman of the Association of Public Transport Operators, and his counterpart from the Alliance of Owners of Public Transport, Roy Raphael, said they hoped the laws would be applied fairly. 

Among the proposed changes introduced by Minister of Transport and Works Michael Lashley in the Road Traffic Amendment Bill 2017 in the House of Assembly yesterday were increased fines for motorists who park in spaces designated for the disabled; possible imprisonment for uninsured motorists involved in accidents that result in injury; and a fine of $1 000 for motorists guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol.

Lashley said the proposed tough measures were designed to put a halt to the kind of recklessness and irresponsible behaviour on Barbados’ roads which had already cost several lives this year. They were also designed to update legislation that originally catered to a Barbados with far fewer road users, he added. (SAT/GC)

Please read the full story in today’s Midweek Nation, or in the eNATION edition.