Transport Department Tightens Up After Fatal Crashes  

In response to the recent accidents, the Ministry of Transport is stepping up its road safety game. Partnering with the police and local traffic authorities, they’ll be increasing patrols and setting up more vehicle checkpoints, especially at night, to crack down on traffic violations. They’ll also be hosting media sessions to share tips and best practices to discourage unsafe driving. Anyone caught breaking traffic laws will face serious consequences. Earlier today, we spoke with Chief Transport Officer Leon Gentle.

 

Leon Gentle, Chief Transport Officer

“This year has seen an alarming number of incidents and I believe between last year and this year, last year we ended with eighty-nine fatal accidents and this year we are all the way up to one [hundred] ten.  So there’s a twenty-two percent increase in road collisions that resulted in fatalities.  So this is something that is urgent.  This is something that as a community, as a department, as the government, as the basic road user, we all need to come together and have a holistic view of protecting each other.”

 

Peter Williams, Deputy Chief Transport Officer

“Traffic data has shown that young people, in particular, young men at that age, they are more risk averse.  They are more prone to taking risks and so that is something that we’re fully aware of and it continues to be a challenge in terms of how we address this issue.  We continue to look at how we can improve the process of issuing a Belize driver’s license and that’s something that we continue to look at.  Even when it comes to certain mental health issues, that’s something that for many years we have not considered when issuing a driver’s license.  Primarily, you get a physical examination and that is all you need.  We have a lot of people within this country who are suffering their own mental issues and so they need some further analysis before we can issue the driving license because that is a main component, how we put people on the roads. For us, we’re not afraid to fail.  When you fail, you’re able to learn from your mistakes and you try to develop new strategies and that is what we’re trying to do at the department.  And so, already we have been meeting to develop our new strategy for the new year coming and so you’ll be seeing a spin on how we deliver this road safety message because it’s not getting through to the Belizean people anymore.  At one point, some years ago, we use to focus on the data.  That was effective at one point.  We would put out the data and the public would say, mein, so many persons are dying from road [traffic accidents] and then we would see a reduction.  But due to other factors, we are realizing that that is no longer effective.”