Figures released by the Police Service yesterday pointed to a decline in road fatalities for 2015, which senior officials claimed was the lowest on record in 14 years.
During the weekly briefing at the Police Administration Building, Port-of-Spain, Senior Supt Beverly Lewis of the Traffic Branch, presented the data which showed that 145 deaths had been recorded from 128 fatal road traffic accidents last year.
She said that represented a 12 per cent reduction in road traffic deaths and a 14 per cent reduction in fatal road traffic accidents, with the last closest recorded figure being in 2001, with 135 deaths and 131 fatal accidents.
Lewis said while those figures represented a positive downward trend, “the TTPS still emphasised the only acceptable figure in road safety is zero, due to the often preventable nature of these collisions.” She confirmed up to midday yesterday, there had been six road deaths recorded for the year thus far, three more than last year during the corresponding period.
Asked to what they would attribute the reduction, Lewis replied: “It may be a bit of behaviour so we are encouraging people to change their behaviour and adhere to the traffic laws.” In the category of pedestrian deaths, in 2015 there was an increase by 20 per cent with 47 persons killed on the roadways, compared to 39 in 2014.
Also of significance was the large reduction in driver deaths in 2015. Lewis said there was a 35 per cent reduction, with 46 drivers being killed in collisions in 2015, compared to 71 in 2014. Motorcyclists deaths also increased notably by 22 per cent in 2015, with 11 deaths occurring, as compared to nine in 2014.
Cyclists also saw a significant reduction of 50 per cent with two recorded deaths in 2015, compared to four in 2014.
Lewis said the general reduction was as a result of a number of strategies by the Highway Patrol in “hot spot” areas; sustained enforcement efforts by patrol teams; strengthening partnerships with road safety stakeholders, including Arrive Alive, the Licensing Authority and the Traffic Warden Unit and increased road safety education campaigns.
Referring to the work of the Driving Under the Influence (DUI) Task Force, Lewis said they would continue to pursue such measures aggressively.
Questioned about their plans for the Carnival season, Lewis said: “We want everyone to be responsible and designate a driver. The DUI Task Force will be stationed at all major roads and highways and we will have more patrols on the roads.”