UNC to blame for road deaths of 337 people?

I always felt this was an easy matter to do and I wondered why the UNC did not introduce speed guns.

After about two years in office, I honestly thought the UNC preferred the gory pictures on the newspapers of accidents leading to road deaths as this would divert attention from the numerous allegations of corruption.

On further reflection, perhaps the reason why the UNC did not introduce the speed guns was that it could not “wuk the deal”. I do not mean anything sinister by this in that to purchase a hundred speed guns requires that a deal be struck. The price must be agreed, the type of guns, delivery dates, after-sales service and several other factors.

I eagerly awaited the statistics when, two weeks ago, road safety project co-ordinator Brent Batson published the reduction in road deaths for May, June and July of this year, compared to the same months last year.

For May 2015 there were 15 deaths compared to seven for this year. In June 2015 there were 18 deaths with eight this year. July figures were 15 (2015) and 7 (2016.

These figures show there was a 54 percent reduction in road deaths since the introduction of the speed gun. Information from the police revealed that in 2014 there were 165 road deaths and in 2015 there were 147 road deaths.

Using an average of 150 road deaths a year, of which an average of 50 percent or 75 deaths could have been avoided by the introduction of speed guns, this would mean that due to the absence of speed controls, in five years the lives of 375 people could have been saved.

Section 53 of the Constitution authorises the Parliament to make laws for peace, order and good government of TT . Assuming the UNC would have taken six months to introduce speed guns, the lives of 337 people would have been saved.

It is possible to argue from a layman’s perspective that the UNC caused the deaths of 337 people on our roads. Conversely, the PNM, by introducing the speed guns in six months, would have saved the lives of 337 people in four and a half years. Well done PNM.

Lennox Sankersingh via email