Police traffic division Superintendent Marino Hinds stated yesterday that he has a slightly different view from the United States’ Safety and Crime Report, which states that police is slow to respond to traffic accidents. 

 Mr. Hinds insisted that the police force’s response time is consistent with that of all Caribbean islands and the world. 

“We believe that there is always room for improvement, but we seek to get better.”, he said. 

On the topic of drinking and driving, the reported stated that that although against the law, drinking and driving is common. 

Mr. Hinds said, “That is a law that has not been passed as yet. We believe that in very short order that will become law.”

“If people are keeping up with what is happening, it has already been passed in the House of Assembly. We’re waiting on it to be passed in the Senate, and the obviously it has to be signed and gazetted.”, he added. 

Once the act is signed and presented in an official capacity, he said, that would give them the power to cite drivers. 

“As our laws are presently constituted, it is not an offense to drink alcohol. Now, you have to fall within the parameters of being considered drunk.   

The current process for deeming a driver impaired is to have a physician measure the amount of alcohol in their blood under the approval of the driver or the Magistrate’s Court. 

Mr. Hinds indicated that there has been talk about implementing breathalyzers, however the force still awaits further instruction. 

As for now, police have the liberty to arrest drunk drivers based on suspicion.