In a bid to clamp down on road fatalities, especially those involving young people, the police are asking Government to lower the legal limit for young drivers who test positive for alcohol in a breathalyser test. Speaking at yesterday’s weekly press briefing at the Police Administration Building, Port-of-Spain, Special Reserve Police Officer (SRP) Brent Batson, co-ordinator of the road safety project, said it was not best practice to apply the legal limit of 35 micrograms of alcohol per every 100 millilitres of breath “across the board.”
We ask the Government and Parliament to consider lowering the legal limit for young drivers between the ages 17 and 21 from 35 micrograms to zero tolerance, which is around eight micrograms,” Batson said. “Once you are in that driver profile you should not be consuming alcohol at all.”
Commenting on the accident which claimed the lives of Khadijah and Khertima Taylor and Kafiya Gill on Sunday morning, Batson said the driver, Anthony Balkissoon, did test positive for alcohol on the breathalyser, but it was not over the legal limit. Alcohol affects young drivers’ risk perceptions differently from those of adults, he said. “And when it is mixed in the whole cauldron of inexperience, feelings of invincibility and just having fun, it can be a recipe for disaster.”
In keeping with international best practice, Batson said, the same approach should be taken towards truck drivers, commercial drivers and taxi drivers. He said raising the age to get a driver’s permit to 21 would not be a good idea, as that was not in line with international standards. In response to Batson’s proposal, president of the road safety advocacy group Arrive Alive Sharon Inglefield yesterday agreed with the recommendation of a zero-tolerance approach to young people who drink and drive.
In calling on the authorities to beef up the examination for a driver’s permit, Inglefield said: “We need to revamp the Motor Vehicle Road Traffic Act to make defensive driving mandatory.” Defensive driving would produce responsible drivers who were capable of assessing risks and taking necessary precautions, she explained.