Getting tough with bad drivers

Transport Minister Dr. Ewart Brown deserves praise for bringing legislation before the House of Assembly on Friday to introduce a demerit system for driving licences.

The standard of driving in Bermuda is abysmal and a demerit system ought to help improve things. At a minimum, it should ensure that those idiots who regularly flout the rules of the road are kept away from the rest of us.

So I was disappointed by the UBP’s response to the legislation, which judging by the report in Saturday’s Royal Gazette was less than enthusiastic. In particular, Wayne Furbert’s suggestion that a driver should only be given points after a first offence caution, second offence interview with the Road Safety Council, and third offence driving education programme was so feeble as to make me wonder whether the UBP has lost touch with reality on this issue.

Nevertheless, Bermuda’s proposed system is less harsh than that currently operating in the UK. Here, points will expire two years after the date of the conviction to which they refer. In the UK, they don’t expire for at least 4 years from the date of the offence, rising to 11 years from the date of conviction if the offence relates to driving while drunk or under the influence of drugs, or causing death by careless driving. Given Bermuda’s problems with driving while under the influence, it’s disappointing that a similar expiry schedule will not be introduced here.

The Government still needs to do more to improve the standard of driving here. Points can only be awarded if an offender is caught, and the enforcement of traffic laws still leaves much to be desired. The introduction of speed cameras has been promised, but is taking a painfully long time to implement. Bermuda’s driving test needs toughening up too.

Nevertheless, the introduction of the demerit system marks a step forward and the PLP deserves credit for introducing it.

Comments

[NoVote on 27.11.05 at 23:48]

The demerit system in the UK is highly effective, and I imagine it would also be so here in Bermuda.

In part this is because it penalises those that can readily afford a bmd200-500 fine in a way that is significant.

There are plenty of people in Bermuda for whom the usual penalty of a fine is little deterrent for offences such as speeding.

It also forces serial offenders off the road altogether unless they adjust their behaviour.

My main concern about the proposal is erratic enforcement.

There still appears to me to be a tendency by the police force to target relatively trivial offences, for which it is easy to catch people. For example, 53kph down a long-straight hill - McGalls, Devonshire near the Dish, Crawl Hill etc. (Incidentally, where in the world apart from Bermuda would there be a legal speed limit of 35kph, but a defacto speed limit of 50kph.) Whereas the routine acts of dangerous, wreckless and careless driving that we all see everyday rarely seem to be addressed.

Seat belt and child safety-seat regulations were introduced a couple of years ago. Yet I see them being flaunted all over the place.

It seems to me that Bermuda has a problem with enforcement. Why put laws on the books and then not enforce them? Doesn't make sense to me.

[tilti on 28.11.05 at 00:24]

Having been unemployed for a span of two weeks over the summer and having little to do I spent a lot of time as a spectator in Magistrates court. It seems as though there is already an uncodified demerit system where the magistrate can give the equivilent of 12 points when he wants to and take someone "off de' road." It happens surprisingly often. What also happens less often but with surprising regularity is people who are with a suspended license in court for a traffic violation. Inevitably they were late for their cousins wedding, but the point is that negative repercussions seem to have little impact.
I think it is good to codify the system, but I think that it needs to be accompanied by more severe penalities.

[Copper on 28.11.05 at 07:29]

Photo radar, or it’s proper name, photo taxation, will do nothing but diminish the already poor police presence. Photo radar doesn’t pull any body over for overtaking on a corner or weaving all over the place because you are drunk. And there are no demerits awarded because you are ticketing the vehicle not the driver.

If you want people to drive properly it needs to be done through police enforcement. I’m not bashing the police either, they need the resources to be able to perform and that is not there. Unfortunately giving money to police enforcement is not a sexy thing for the government to do, any government not just the local one. No trips to be had around the world so government officials can see the latest techniques in pulling over drunks. Besides the government is too busy building trailer parks right, which can be a nice plug for tourism when Jerry Springer comes down to do a few shows……

[Guilden M. Gilbert, Jr. on 28.11.05 at 09:30]

Limey,

With regard to the UBP's comments on the legislation it just goes to show that the UBP have no other agenda but to criticise every action of the PLP.

Copper,

"If you want people to drive properly it needs to be done through police enforcement. I’m not bashing the police either, they need the resources to be able to perform and that is not there."

What specific resources are you talking about?

[Raptor on 28.11.05 at 10:09]

Thanks to the PLP for introducing legislation on a demerit system. It’s clear we need the resources for enforcement too.

The difference between the large number of police I used to see on the roads and who’s out there now is huge. It does seem they’d need to put many more out on the roads, on bikes, to catch the crazies (who might try to outrun them, and this could be dangerous in itself).

Not only is it important to have demerits on a driver’s licence, but also that should automatically carry over to his/her insurance rates. Insurance goes up, and stays up for a certain number of years. That is often a bigger deterrent than the actual fine in court.

The UBP’s response is insipid, silly. Bermuda has to crack down on what’s happening on the roads and do it firmly. That’s the reality (which everyone else seems to see clearly).

Speed cameras do work and could catch “third-lane” offenders on certain stretches of road too if they can be positioned properly. They might not identify the rider/driver, but that often gets sorted out at home. I.e., if some young person is driving the family car, he or she will have to be held responsible for the fines and insurance increase by the parents. If the driver is identified, he/she gets the demerits too.

Or, how about putting IPCs on all bikes? Or, you know the transponders that are used in the U.S. for “E-Z-Pass” and “Fast Lane” toll booths? Make some sort of technology part of the cost of the bike, or car. They’d probably take them off though.

And I agree with NoVote: the difference between the actual speed limit and the de facto speed limit is far too high.

Interesting what tilti says about observing in Magistrates Court. I just believe the demerits should be automatic, and not left to the discretion of the magistrate.

[H Reardon on 28.11.05 at 10:14]

"Having been unemployed for a span of two weeks over the summer and having little to do I spent a lot of time as a spectator in Magistrates court."

Posted by tilti on 28.11.05 at 00:24

And some say there aren't enough things to do on this tiny island. Tilti, did you take your "Pop By" flag to Magistrates court? Could have shown some cruise shippers a good time.

From my visits to court, it does seem that there is an arbitrary point system in that prior offenses are read before the judge and he does take drivers off de road for 3 bad offenses (55+ KPH over 2 years) or 1 really bad (75+ KPH).

[Yet Another Limey on 28.11.05 at 10:22]

I think the UBP is right to be against this, after all the bad driver vote is almost as large as the church vote. By pandering to this sector they might just win the next election.
i

[Somers on 28.11.05 at 11:49]

I agree with Copper... there is no enforcement on the roads. The rules are already there & have been there for years. I only see this point system as a "3 strikes your out" waste of time. It does nothing to deter the diddleybops driving down the middle on a corner with their helmuts not done up. I am venturing a guess, but most of them are probably already disqualified drivers without insurance.
Just add this to the pile of "beauracrazy" - keeps someone employed.

[Copper on 28.11.05 at 13:04]

Resources?

More officers patroling the roads. And the officers need to write the tickets and make sure that they don't get pulled before court.
Vehicles for the officers to patrol the roads with, which should include video systems to monitor the scene.

The court system to handle it.

If we already have the officers I don't know where they are hiding.

I've notice lately an increase in people not even strapping down there helment!! Obviously there is a reason they are doing that. Besides being stupid, nobody has made them pay for being stupid.

[44-40 on 28.11.05 at 13:15]

Um, limey I don't know how long you've been on the island, but the standard of driving has gone up a whole lot over the last couple of years. Compared to ten years ago, people drive alot slower and far less crazy.

[Somers on 28.11.05 at 15:41]

Earth to 44-40... what are you smoking? Driving standards have risen over the past ten years???? And you argument is highlighted by the decline in road traffic accidents and fatalities I assume? Get real.

[Uncle Elvis on 28.11.05 at 15:49]

Whether it's gone up and down (I'm not sure how you can figger that standards have gone UP, but...) is irrelevant.

What matters is:

It still sucks!

End of story.

[NoVote on 28.11.05 at 16:34]

Anybody that thinks that driving standards have improved in the last ten years isn't counting the number of knocked-down walls bordering our roads. Having spent 3 to 4 years away from the Island between 1999 and 2003, I found a significant increase in such eye-sores upon my return. Based upon the way that I now see people driving, I pretty sure that driving standars are the contributing factor and have definitely not improved.

[Phil on 29.11.05 at 21:03]

I have just received an email from Wayne Furbert clarifying the UBP's position (his emphasis):

"I read your comments and others about the UBP's response to the demerit system.

It appears that many thought we were against the system, that is absolutely wrong.

It was included in our discussion paper "Road Safety" in 1997. We just did not have time to implement it because we lost the election in 1998. Other suggestions were graduating Licensing, drivers education and revocation of once license, to name a few.

In the PLP's bill we felt that drivers education should have been included hence the warning and meetings with the road safety. As a matter of fact they called for disqualification we felt that if a person continued with bad road manners their license should be revoked.

Punitive measures up front does not always work, if it did we would have less in prison.

Education will be the key in every aspect of life to modify behavior, for the long term."

[tilti on 01.12.05 at 11:58]

the thread on Dejon has got me rethinking this post. If I am unsympathetic to his case it is beacuse as a 21 year old male I have an astronomical insurance premium to pay, regardless of the fact that drive at 40 and have never been in an accident. It made me think that if insurance rates are allowed to vary by age than possibly so too could fines for bad driving.
The majority of reckless drivers are young, live at home and have expendable income. If they knew that they were going to receive fines in the range of $500 dollars for bad driving under the afe of 25 it might change their actions. Demerit points have litle effect it seems, and the fines are paltry now.

[Bald Eagle on 03.12.05 at 08:53]

It would seem that all the demerit point ideas, bans and/or mandatory driver training are futile if you don't catch 'em in the first place.
The police do need to take back the roads in Bermuda whether it be a matter of increasing resources or simply getting out of the parking lot with the resources they already have!

[RedOnion on 03.12.05 at 11:09]

When I was a teenager in the 1960's my peers and I feared Sgt Sean Sheehan. He and his cycle squad members were everywhere all the time it seemed. Although we did such things as have illegal gears in our mopeds (with a 'setup' to immobilise if necessary), speeding and recklessness was something we thought twice about because Sgt Sheehan would invariably show up and catch us.

Basically, his high profile presence on the roads kept us honest. None of us wanted our bikes impounded, which happened often if there was even a hint of excessive noise.

A higher police prescence on the roads, with regular vehicle stops and licence checks can only help this crazy situation to get better.

[Two Cents on 03.12.05 at 13:11]

I agree with Red Onion, in the 80's (when I was younger..Oh god I sound like my dad) the three most feared cycle squad members were P.C's Lindo, Foggo, and Lewis..it seemed like they were not only everywhere but on duty 24 hours a day, and whereever or whenever we did something wrong there they were waiting for us.

We need a stronger police presence to curb this dangerous driving which is island wide, not the guys who hide in trees giving out tickets for 50km in 8:30 rush hour traffic when you're only keeping up the traffic flow.