Assembly gets tough on negligent drivers in bid to curb road accidents |02 August 2012

The system will also curtail irresponsible attitudes and habits which are on the increase among drivers on public roads.

The motion was tabled on Tuesday by proportionally elected member Sylvianne Valmont.
In her presentation, Mrs Valmont said the reason for the motion is because there has been a marked increase in the number of road accidents, especially those resulting from negligent driving and where an increasing number of people are losing their lives or are becoming disabled as a result of injuries sustained.

She said this is putting a lot of pressure on resources provided by government and other institutions and also on the drivers involved as well as victims of those accidents.
Mrs Valmont pointed out that our roads are used for different reasons and by different means and types of transport and not to forget pedestrians.

“With the considerable increase in the number of vehicles and other means of transport on our roads today, it is at the same time essential that drivers become more conscious of their responsibilities,” she said.

Many of the accidents during the past five to 10 years have resulted from negligent driving, drivers not respecting speed limits, racing on the highway, using mobile phones when driving, and driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

As a result, she pointed out, our small country has to cope with a lot of fatalities among children, adolescents and adults.

Children have been robbed of their parents and victims of accidents have been left disabled, thus putting more pressure on the government’s financial resources.

“It is time that the necessary mechanisms are put in place to reduce accidents caused by negligent and irresponsible driving before many more lives are lost and more people become disabled,” she stressed.

She said the introduction of a demerit point system will not only be a means to better educate drivers and urge them to be more responsible when behind the wheel, but will also discourage the bad and irresponsible attitudes and habits which are on the increase among drivers on public roads.

Mrs Valmont noted that the demerit point system has been introduced in several countries, namely Dubai, China, France and Ireland among others, based on their own respective criteria and it is working well.