Ronald Thwaites | Juliet’s danger is ours, too

I am distressed to read of the terror experienced by Juliet Cuthbert-Flynn and her daughter, victims of a deranged taxi driver. I know her to be a strong person and pray that she will recover from this frightening experience. But, sadly, instances like this are not uncommon and are predictable.

Years ago when Pat Stephens was at the Ministry of Transport, there was a study evidencing that more than a third of public passenger vehicle drivers had never passed a legitimate driving test. What has changed over the intervening years? Most representatives of the people would have been approached by persons asking for help, not for driving lessons but to ‘pay a man’ to get a driver’s licence.

Thousands and thousands more operate the smallest and most lethal (and noisiest!) weapons of mass destruction, a powerful motorcycle, without safety gear and on the basis of a learner’s licence, perpetually renewed — or not. My educated guess is that probably up to half of the operators of motor vehicles have never experienced rigorous training and been submitted to a driving examination appropriate to the realities of Jamaican roads.

Which of us do not observe riders and drivers, from motorcycles to 18-wheelers, with a spliff in their mouth and a phone in one hand?

Many drivers are illiterate; others are intoxicated with stimulants, pot and/or liquor. So there should be no surprise when they behave in an irrational manner and ‘tek set’ against anyone, like Juliet, who they think has crossed them.

And beyond technical incapacity, there is no testing for psychological challenges that should debar a person from holding a driver’s licence.

Retesting necessary

No official will take on my proposal that, at least at 15 years, a renewal of licence should require a retesting of eyesight, hearing, mechanical competence and mental stability. My first driver’s permit was issued 58 years ago. All that has been required since then has been the periodic payment of a fee and the taking of a new picture.

The situation on our roads, especially in the urban areas, has been greatly aggravated by the issuance of indiscriminate road licences by the present Government so that every unemployed person, uncertified youth and worker who wants an extra hustle can acquire on the easiest credit imaginable one of the endless stream of Japanese old cars on which we lavish our foreign exchange, feign prosperity, bankrupt the JUTC, and incite road rage.

Once again, we confuse freedom and opportunity with ‘leggo-beast’ licence and chaos.

Drivers, like the road thug who would have stabbed up Juliet, often operate for punishing hours to be able to pay the ‘owner man’, the bank money, and his babymother. Anyone who gets in their way becomes a target.

The hopeful prime minister expects that all the new roads will solve the problem. They will help – for a while only, though, until the clog of cars and bikes begins and as poverty increases, more drivers take to the road, permit or no permit, road licence or none.

Please do not expect the new Road Traffic Law to make much difference.

First, because no one knows when the regulations will really be brought into effect, and also because its implementation is going to become a nightmare for the police, given the scope of the discipline required, their own self-interest and the reality of corruption. I find it amazing that the carriers of motor insurance have not reacted more to the carnage and vulnerability on the roads. Were they more careful in who they indemnify, at least some better standards would suffice.

Juliet’s peril is ours to ensue. They should be the most vocal and insistent advocates for the highest driving standards and driver behaviour. Require proof of legitimate competence before a policy is issued.

Last, the HEART Trust/NTA ought to set the standards for driver education, mandate it in schools, and supervise the operation of all driver academies. Traffic courts should impose mandatory retraining and retesting for all motorists found guilty of careless or dangerous driving, to be paid for by the miscreant.

It would be appropriate if the members of the Government, sympathetic as they will be at the terrible experience of one of their number, would be spurred to adopt some of the measures suggested instead of adding to the current chaos.

Ronald Thwaites is member of parliament for Kingston Central and opposition spokesperson on education and training. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.