Cabinet ministers have issued a renewed appeal for greater responsibility on Saint Lucia’s roads, warning that reckless driving and impaired judgement are contributing to an unacceptable number of serious crashes while placing increasing pressure on the island’s emergency response and healthcare systems.
Speaking during the Government’s pre-Cabinet press briefing on July 27, Health Minister Moses Jn Baptiste, Tourism Minister Dr Ernest Hilaire and Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre each stressed that reducing road fatalities requires both stronger enforcement and a greater commitment from motorists to drive responsibly.
Health Minister Moses Jn Baptiste said many of the country’s road traffic incidents could be prevented if individuals exercised greater care.
“As Prime Minister often says, these are some of the things we can prevent if we take greater personal responsibility for the way we drive, the way we interact with our brothers and sisters, and we can do a lot better as a country,” Jn Baptiste said.
He noted that serious collisions affect far more than those directly involved, placing tremendous demands on first responders and medical personnel.
“I wish to remind the people of Saint Lucia that every vehicle accident, when unfortunately we have injuries, we need to, the fire service, the police, the accident and emergency professionals at our hospitals come under tremendous stress as they provide services to our people,” he said.
Tourism Minister Dr Ernest Hilaire said changing social patterns and the increasing number of vehicles on the roads have created new challenges that require enhanced policing.
“I think there was a time when there were a lot less vehicles on the road and maybe a lot less parties, a lot less drinking and it was probably a little safer for individuals,” Hilaire said. “I think we have moved on and there is probably a need for greater policing of the roads, especially after those events. So I agree with you totally.”
Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre linked the issue of road safety to the wider national observance of Emancipation, urging Saint Lucians to free themselves from behaviour that endanger lives.
“Things you can emancipate ourselves from. I hope that in the observance of Emancipation Day, we can look into dealing with these issues,” Pierre said. “We can emancipate ourselves from recklessness. We can emancipate ourselves from carelessness on the roads. We can emancipate ourselves from drinking under the influence of alcohol and drugs. These are things you can emancipate ourselves from.”
“We can do that. And I think that it’s very important that when we look at the things that are very exciting and that can cause a lot of excitement, there are little things that we can deal with.”
The Prime Minister described the recent level of road crashes as unacceptable and called for motorists to accept responsibility for their actions.
“This week or last week, the accidents on the roads were on an unacceptable level,” he said.
“I’m not judging, but the recklessness on Saint Lucia roads is something that we must look into. We have to take personal responsibility for the way we drive on the roads in the country.”
Pierre also pointed to damaged roadside barriers as evidence of excessive speed, arguing that too many motorists seek to excuse dangerous driving rather than confront the underlying problem.
“Have you noticed the barriers by Sans Souci? You know what mash them up? People. That’s what mash them up, you know,” he said. “And you know why they mash them up? Because they were driving too fast. They were reckless.”
The Prime Minister questioned claims that drivers had simply fallen asleep at the wheel.
“Now I’ll tell you something, big excuse that they fell asleep. When you fall asleep and you hit a barrier, you stay there. You don’t mash it up, you must have speed,” he said.
“We are missing the fundamental point that people drive too fast on the roads. We are missing the point.”
He added that political considerations should not prevent honest conversations about the causes of road fatalities.
“And because of our selfishness and our desire to be a political opportunist, we do not make these points,” Pierre said.