Dear Editor,

It is abundantly clear from driving on Jamaican roads that many drivers are unfamiliar with the road code. Nonetheless, these drivers have valid driver’s licences.

Consider this: When was the last time you saw a vehicle with L plates affixed being driven by a male? It is a rare sight indeed! Additionally, because of impatience, speeding, inadequate road markings and signage, accidents rates are very high. This has led to insurance companies charging very high premiums.

How can we improve the situation? Here are a few suggestions:

Use the technology now available to make sure every potential driver goes through an official driving test before being allowed on the roads. For example, each driver’s licence should have the driver’s fingerprint bar code on it, plus the signature of the person who validated the passing of the test. All of this data should be entered into a dedicated database. This would require the Traffic Division of the police to carry a fingerprint reader. It would allow for better monitoring of the traffic situation and minimise corruption.

Before the above can be implemented the police, on stopping a vehicle, should administer a quick ‘roadside’ test. The questions should come from the current road code. If the driver is unable to answer a minimum of three out of five questions correctly, the licence plate on the vehicle should be removed, as is the current practice for failing a mechanical test. The driver should then be asked to present a new driver’s licence at a police station to retrieve the vehicle. If unable to do so within a stipulated time, he/she should be charged with an offence. The database should then be amended, accordingly.

Meanwhile, the authorities should improve road surfaces and road markings to aid better driving, especially at night. Road dividers and barriers should be regularly painted with fluorescent paint and cat’s eyes put in on rural roads where the general lighting is poor.

Henry Ellis

henry.ellis@uwimona.edu.jm