Licensing Chief promises to put brakes on learners’ activities

Highly annoyed by the congestion on the road at the entrance of the St John’s Ambulance Association and Brigade of Trinidad and Tobago Headquarters, Chairman/Commander, Ignatius Ferreira has condemned the non action to date, of the Chief Licensing Officer and the Police. He said: “All through the day this happens but it’s worse on evenings and weekends and nobody seems to care. Are they waiting for an accident or for somebody to get killed? Why do we have to burn tyres or hold placards to get something done?” St John’s is a free ambulance service with some 10 ambulances at headquarters, 300 volunteers, ready to respond in cases of emergency, and one warden who is based at headquarters. Ferreira, who has been a foundation member of the organisation since 1951 when it first started in Trinidad, told Sunday Newsday that since October 2002, he had written to the Chief Licensing Officer about the danger posed by “L” drivers taking tuition lessons at the entrance of St John’s, with subsequent letters to the Police and Transports Commissioner. But Ferreira said there has been no acknowledgment of the letters. “They just don’t care, they have displayed that they have little or no regard for the public, they’ve shown contempt for the public by allowing people to occupy a public road without any interference from them, any correction or any guidance. If this is the way the Chief Licensing Officer operates then we can expect more chaos on the road. There is no discipline,” said Ferreira who thought it ridiculous to have driving schools operating at the entrance of an ambulance bay. “Some days there are as many as 10 learners outside St John’s and they have even painted lines on the road and are using poles as markers.

The situation has been affecting St John’s for 18 months  but Ferreira said it is becoming worse. Nathaniel Douglas, Chief Licensing Officer denied Ferreira’s claims that there was no response from his office. He recalled writing Ferreira six weeks ago. He said that he also wrote to the police to increase patrols in the area, and to the Chief Traffic Engineer, to put up the relevant signs. Douglas added: “Things are happening. I have instructed my Law Enforcement Officer, Mr Huggins to prosecute perpetrators if they did not desist from using the area.” Since then, he said Huggins has been making patrols in the area and these will be intensified as a matter of priority. Douglas met twice in the last two months with the driving schools and raised the question of their congestion of the road. “They are saying that they have nowhere to go but I told them to keep the entrance clear and if it continues they will be prosecuted. I am to meet with them this week and raise it again,” said Douglas. Asked how soon after the intended meeting this week that his office will begin prosecuting the perpetrators,  Douglas said that once the sign is put up by the Chief Traffic Engineer, it will start. When contacted, Chief Traffic Engineer, Suresh Jogie, claimed he hadn’t yet seen the relevant correspondence from Douglas but said: “Once he tells me to do it, it would be done. Once I see his recommendations I will get it done next week. I will call him now”. ACP Mobile Nazamul Hosein, who took up his position two weeks ago, said he hadn’t seen correspondence on the matter, but promised to look into it and confer with the relevant people. He also intends to lay the matter on the table, at the next Traffic Board meeting on October 15. Hosein added, if the situation is affecting St John’s then the driving schools will have to stop their activities there and another place will be designated for them to operate.