NEWSDAY JANUARY 17, 2 K14 Radar guns soon By JULIEN NEAVES Friday, January 17 2014 WITH “unbelievable recklessness” on the nation’s roads, tenders will soon be invited for radar guns for the police and the instruments should be in the country in the next few months, said Transport Minister, Stephen Cadiz. Speaking to Newsday yesterday in a telephone interview, he said his ministry was just about ready to invite tenders and he is hoping to procure them before the end of the first quarter of 2014. He noted there was also a regulation that they have to go to Parliament to change the law. He also explained that the current Act, which is very “dated”, does not allow for “electronic detection”. He also noted the regulation has to state the type of instrument they are using. “So that is being prepared, and we’re going to Parliament as soon as we can, to get that done. But it is happening. Without a doubt,” he added. He said the Commissioner of Police will determine what specific type of instrument they want to use, and there are different manufacturers producing different products. He noted their job as Transport Ministry, through the Vehicle Management Corporation of Trinidad & Tobago (VMCOTT), will be doing the tendering procedure, while the police will determine the type of instrument. Questioned on the time frame for purchase of the instruments, Cadiz said it was his hope that they would have had it by the end of the first quarter of this year “which I think we could probably still do, as far as the procurement is concerned”. He noted after procurement there will be training in the use of the guns and other things. “I would like to think by the end of the first quarter of 2014 we will have the regulations done, the speed detection instruments in the country and out in the field as soon as possible,” he said. Cadiz noted that, while combating drunk driving and the laws for safety belts and against use of cellphones were steps in the right direction, “we have to bring control on the roads, especially the highways”. “I drive myself on the highways, and it’s unbelievable the recklessness that you see. And that has to be brought under control, without a doubt,” he said. He noted the radar guns will play a big part, pointing out that even when the driver cannot see where the police are, they can track their speed because the guns are very accurate at long distances. He added the guns will give the police “a lot more power and authority over the management of the way we drive on our roads”. He said this not only augurs well for safety on highways, but by bringing control to the roads it will have some effect on crime as police will be stopping more vehicles, and this will add to the crime initiatives of National Security Minister, Gary Griffith. Griffith told Newsday he had a recent meeting with Cadiz and the guns should be “on stream shortly”. He noted officers will be able to pinpoint persons driving above the speed limit, which is a trait of some intoxicated drivers as well.
Posted on: Fri, 17 Jan 2014 11:48:44 +0000
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