By FARRAH JOHNSON

fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

WHILE the amendments to the Road Traffic Act have been designed to reduce the number of traffic fatalities in the country, traffic police say drivers must make an active effort to abide by all the road regulations to ensure the new rules produce the desired results.

Speaking to The Tribune, Chief Superintendent Craig Stubbs said the only way to decrease the number of traffic related deaths and incidents is to promote responsible driving.

“We thought the cell phone laws would have helped, but it’s up to the driving community – persons who are in charge of the vehicle – to adhere to the rules and regulations,” he said.

“We continue to warn drivers to obey the rules and regulations because they were made for a particular reason.”

ASP Stubbs insisted that the majority of traffic accidents occur when drivers feel that the road rules don’t apply to them.

He added that their “number one concern” is the number of people driving without a valid driver's licence.

“Some persons are driving and only have their learner’s permit,” he said. “Then you have a person who has yet to meet the requirements to sit the exam to learn the street signs driving or in charge of a vehicle.”

“All that contributes to the accidents on the streets. Once that happens we put these people before the court and we charge them, but until persons follow the laws that (say) you need to have a valid driver’s licence, we’ll continue to have an issue.”

Superintendent Mareno Hinds, second officer-in-charge of the Traffic Division, also told this newspaper while he believes the new road rules will affect the number of traffic fatalities, the anticipated impact is not guaranteed.

“People still will exercise poor judgment so we suspect there will be some fatalities,” he said.

“But all laws are made with a view to making the quality of life better for Bahamians so we do believe that the new road rules will help.”

“Our warnings remain the same,” he added. “Our first vice is drinking and driving. We do not want persons to drink and drive. We recognise that it is the holiday season so people will drink and so we say to them drink in moderation and if they’re going to drink, we’re asking that they have a designated driver.”

Supt Hinds also encouraged drivers to “pay attention to the road” while driving.

He explained that their second advice is drivers being distracted by cell phones and urged the public to purchase hand free devices or set up their phones in a way that they don’t have to use their hands.

“Those are two very important rules that we would ask people to adhere to moving into the year 2020,” he said.

The officers' comments come after the most recent traffic fatality that left one man dead and two others in hospital Thursday morning.

Shortly after 1am, three men were travelling west on Robinson Road near Washington Street, when the driver lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a concrete wall.

The front seat passenger sustained serious injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver and the other passenger were taken to hospital.

According to ASP Stubbs, the driver is still listed in critical condition while the passenger in the back seat has since been treated and discharged.