CDARI director calls for changes to drunk-driving legislation
CASTRIES, St Lucia (CMC) — Director of the St Lucia-based Caribbean Drug and Alcohol Research Institute (CDARI)), Dr Marcus Day, wants a change in the existing legislation governing driving under the influence of alcohol.
He says the number of drunk drivers on the roads is reflected in the increased number of road accidents being recorded here.
“I think that there are a number of accidents that we cannot attribute a cause to and I think that alcohol is one of those factors,” Dr. Day said, adding that he does not think the island has the data to deal with the matter. He also said the police were hampered by existing legislation.
His comments follow the traffic accidents this past weekend that claimed the lives of regional banker Andy Delmar who died Sunday night when a truck crashed into his vehicle along the Millennium Highway south-west of here and 30 year-old Guyanese, Tanza Campbell, when her vehicle plunged into the Castries Harbour.
In a statement, the CDARI director said St Lucia has no legislation entitling the police to use breathalysers and that the current legislation calls for drawing blood to determine blood alcohol levels.
“This means you have to take the driver to Victoria Hospital or some other health facility and even more important is the chain of custody of that blood and the results before it goes to trial,” he said, noting that there is need to re-examine the existing legislation.
“I think that we need public education. We need to change the attitude of people that driving under the influence of alcohol is acceptable.” Dr Day said, adding that during his 25 years of working in the field he has heard a number of stories from police officers who have pulled over people of “status”, including government ministers, lawyers and judges under the influence of alcohol.
But he said instead of pressing charges against those people, they were instead taken to their homes.
“It is very difficult to press these kinds of laws in a society that is so closely knit. I think we need to change the legislation and apply it indiscriminately and start educating people that it is unacceptable to drive under the influence of alcohol.”
