Concerns are being raised by president of Arrive Alive Sharon Inglefield that neither the speed guns nor the new Motor Vehicle Authority have been put into use, especially as the carnage on the nation’s roads continues.
However, Inglefield said the speed gun was absolutely necessary as it was a preventative measure to save lives.
“This, coupled with a complete revamp of the Motor Vehicle Authority to include the speed detection not only by the guns but also by the cameras, point system in the revoking of driver’s licence... all of these elements are vitally important as preventative measures to save lives.
"We are extremely disappointed these measures have not come into effect," Inglefield said in a telephone interview yesterday.
She said Arrive Alive, a road safety lobby group, had gotten no feedback from Transport Minister Fitzgerald Hinds regarding the organisation's concerns but was hoping to hear from him soon.
"Each one of us is responsible for our own safety and we need to ensure we are obeying the speed limit and adjusting the speed to adapt to the road conditions," Inglefield said.
Calls to Hinds' cellphone went unanswered yesterday.
But John Victor, corporate communications manager at the Ministry of Transport, said he was told by the ministry's legal department that the procurement process for the speed guns was ongoing.
He said a company was working with the Police Service regarding the finalisation of the matter but no time frame could be given as to when the issue would be completed.
Victor added that there was a possibility that the 400 speed guns as previously proposed by the former administration might be reduced as there might not be the need to have so many.
Legislation governing the Motor Vehicle Authority lapsed in the last Parliament and has not yet been re-introduced.
The road death toll currently stands at 135 as compared to 146 for the same period last year.
Speed guns coming
Public Information Officer of the Police Service, ASP Michael Pierre, assured that the speed guns would in fact be put into use.
"I know that process is ongoing but it is not in the back-burner. The Police Service is working on it," Pierre added.
However, he could not give a definite date or the number of guns which would be used.
Co-ordinator of the Police Service's Strategic Road Safety Project, Brent Batson, was also unaware of when the guns would come into effect.
When contacted ACP in charge of Mobile, Deodat Dulalchan, said he did not wish to comment on the matter.
Five road deaths
On Tuesday three people — Anthony Marcano, 54, of Pierreville, Saliesha Ali, 41, of Foodcrop Road, Bristol, and Sherwin Constantine, 54, of Pierreville — died in a crash at Bristol Village, on the Naparima/Mayaro Road, at around 11.30 am.
The crash was similar to an incident on the M1 Ring Road, Princes Town, on Monday in which a father and son died when their car crashed into a truck.
In 2013, former Transport Minister Stephen Cadiz had promised that the speed guns would come into effect by February of 2014 in a bid to curb reckless driving.
Cadiz had made the announcement at a post-Cabinet news conference at the Diplomatic Centre, St Ann’s, in which he said police would be trained to use some 400 speed detection devices, which were expected to be made available in all divisions.
But in July this year Cadiz had said an administrative flaw in the procurement process had forced the Vehicle Maintenance Company of T&T (VMCOTT) to terminate its previous tender for the guns and reopen a new tender.
Cadiz had also said he was “upset” and “disappointed” that the long-awaited speed guns had been further delayed.