by Kevon Browne
St. Kitts and Nevis (WINN) – The frequency and lethality of traffic accidents in the Federation have been a significant talking point for citizens and residents.
The rate at which accidents occurred warranted a statement from law enforcement where they pleaded with the people of St. Kitts and Nevis that speeding – reported as the leading cause of traffic accidents – is unnecessary, even if late.
For St. Kitts alone, there have been more than 600 traffic accidents within the first half of 2023, as Sergeant Sophia Henry of the Traffic Department reported.
A more startling figure is the four fatalities between May and the first week of July.
Attorney General and Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs, Hon. Garth Wilkin, in response to the traffic accidents being seen in the Federation, reminded the general public of a change to legislation previously addressed where a demerit system would be introduced to curtail reckless and dangerous driving on the streets of St. Kitts and Nevis.
“In respect of traffic illegalities and recklessness, we are currently working on an amendment to the Traffic Act to introduce a demerit point system so that [people] who are reckless on the road can lose their licenses after gaining a certain amount of points and cannot recover their licenses until they take defensive and safe driving courses. We are also reviewing the highway code to examine speed limits and introduce potential sleeping policemen, otherwise known as speedbumps.”
The AG did not give a specific timeline for the amendments to the laws, the proposed speed limits and where speed bumps would be introduced.
However, the police had informed that there would be an increased police presence in hotspot areas for traffic violations, especially speeding, which include the roundabouts in Camps and Bird Rock, the Ft Williams Highway and Johnson Long Path, the stretch of road from the University of Medicine and Health Sciences to the Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine.
