Truck driver jailed for killing pensioner

IMPOSING fines on drivers convicted of reckless driving is not encouraging motorists to take precaution on the nation’s roads. Stating this yesterday, High Court judge Melville Baird slapped a two-month jail sentence on truck driver Nazir Ali for causing the death of 85-year-old Pleasantville pensioner Henry Smith. Baird, in passing sentence on Ali, 53, in the San Fernando First Assize, observed that when motorists become aware that they would go to prison for reckless driving, they may exercise more discipline on the roads. There would be less death and injury, the judge said, as Ali was handcuffed and taken away by policemen.

Ali, of Barrackpore, was driving a trailer truck transporting 18,000 pounds of carbon dioxide gas on the San Fernando Bypass. The truck swung off the road and killed Smith on March 11, 1997. The accident occurred at the traffic-light intersection in Pleasantville. Ali testified that he was driving around 30 miles per hour when he swerved his truck to avoid hitting a car which had stopped suddenly in front of him, and the front of the truck struck Smith. Ali was on trial before the judge and a nine-member mixed jury for motor manslaughter. Last Friday, he was found not guilty of motor manslaughter, but guilty of reckless driving.

Baird said the court viewed the wanton carnage that was taking place on the nation’s roads with alarm. “The lack of patience, and the lack of discipline, the utter disregard for traffic regulations that drivers exhibit on the roads of this country have now solidified into a culture. No driver is prepared to wait for a second,” Justice Baird said. Baird said penalising motorists convicted of reckless driving by imposing a $2,000 fine and suspending his/her driver’s licence for a few weeks was not deterring motorists from committing traffic offences.

“Judging from the frequency of very serious vehicular accidents through reckless driving, fine and suspension are not deterring drivers from driving recklessly,” the judge said. He then ruled, “The time has come for the court to raise the bar. This court is of the view that a conviction for reckless driving should attract a term of preemptory imprisonment in the High Court and Magistrates’ Court.” The offence of reckless driving carries a maximum prison term of six months. Ali is a coach with the Southern Cricket League where he taught the art of the game to primary school pupils at Yorkshire Cricket Club.