Bahamian ‘Russian roulette’ with 30% uninsured drivers

• Ending accident ‘horror stories’ not ‘rocket science’

• Insurers await action over digital-based solutions

• Urging tougher penalties and stricter enforcement

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas is “really playing Russian roulette on the road” with its citizens’ lives by failing to crack down on the estimated 25-30 percent of drivers who are uninsured, insurers warned yesterday.

Both Anton Saunders, RoyalStar Assurance’s managing director, and Timothy Ingraham, Summit Insurance Company’s chief executive, confirmed to Tribune Business that the industry has proposed digital-based solutions to the authorities that would help prevent the numerous “horror stories” resulting from traffic fatalities, injuries and economic loss caused by uninsured drivers.

Speaking after the Royal Bahamas Police Force’s traffic division head revealed that 50 percent, or half, of all vehicles involved in accidents in 2023 were uninsured, they argued that the failure to follow through with an electronic system that links the police to the Road Traffic Department and private insurer databases is creating loopholes that rogue drivers exploit with impunity.

However, Mr Ingraham said he had been informed that government officials were “expecting approval” to “move forward any day now” with the first element of that project which would allow property and casualty insurers to send digital motor vehicle insurance certificates directly to Road Traffic.

This will confirm whether drivers possess the proper insurance, and help alert the authorities as to whether the necessary coverage has been renewed by the due date or if it has expired - a first step in trying to detect and catch those driving without protection.

“The police have the facts more than us,” Mr Saunders told this newspaper over assertions by Chief Superintendent David Lockhart, the police traffic division head, that half the vehicles involved in traffic accidents are not insured.

“If the police are saying 50 percent of the people are not insured, then we in The Bahamas are really playing Russian roulette on the road,” the RoyalStar chief asserted. “To tackle this, this is not rocket science. You go down south, or you go north. The blueprint is there.

“It’s the will of the administration, whichever administration it is, to deal with it and deal with it properly. The solution is there in many countries once they do it properly. Others have dealt with this. There ain’t no sense reinventing the wheel. Let’s apply what’s best for us.” Mr Saunders said part of the solution lies in stricter enforcement of the law and more severe penalties for those caught driving without insurance.

“If you are driving without insurance or registration, the car is impounded at a proper impound place. The driver cannot recover the car unless they pay the impound fee and court fee, and all those things,” he added. “And if the police catch you out there without those things, there are tremendous fines they can impose.”

Mr Saunders said uninsured drivers, who are caught and booked by the police, are too often let go or receive relatively minor punishment and continue with their law-breaking. “We are playing Russian roulette,” he reiterated.

“You should really go and talk to those people involved in accidents where the other person was driving without insurance and see the devastation caused. I have some friends and colleagues in the same position. It’s devastating. You need to contact those people, and you will hear the horror stories of what they are going through now and everything else.

It could happen to any one of us out there. Someone hits us, changes our lives without any compensation. If the police are saying 50 percent of persons involved in accidents are ‘x’, I believe the figure will be 25 percent of persons driving on the road with no insurance,” Mr Saunders continued.

“If you take the statistics that come into our office, 25 percent of our comprehensive insurance clients involved in accidents are hit by someone with no insurance. Until we start enforcing these things, and start ensuring those people who are liable pay, it’s going to continue.”

Chief Superintendent Lockhart partially blamed the level of non-insurance on drivers obtaining temporary cover notes from brokers and agents, thus enabling them to pass the Road Traffic inspection, only to subsequently fail to pay the required premium leading to the cancellation of coverage.

However, Mr Saunders described cover notes as “a thing of the past” for BIA members and these are no longer issued given their vulnerability to fraud and misuse. Yet drivers are still only partially paying their motor vehicle premiums to pass Road Traffic, failing to pay the full balance and continuing to drive despite the cancellation of coverage.

“We reach out to the Road Traffic Department, but it’s not digitised,” Mr Saunders added. “Until these things are digitised to make them more efficient, these things will always be there. We are still not one.

“I am sure the BIA, and I cannot speak on the BIA’s behalf because I am not an officer of the BIA, but if they come to the BIA I am sure we will be happy to sit down and resolve the situation.”

Mr Ingraham, meanwhile, said the problem of uninsured drivers on Bahamian roads is a long-standing issue but little progress has been made in implementing the proposed solutions. “As far as I’m aware, nothing has been done with any of the suggestions,” he told Tribune Business.

“The digitisation programme that the Government is moving forward, I think that paused recently, although I understand it’s about to restart again. That had a component that allows us to issue a certificate of insurance directly to Road Traffic saying a person’s insurance is active.

“If the insurance has expired it’s all electronic, so it would go in the police system and Road Traffic Department system that the insurance on this vehicle has expired and not been renewed. Putting insurance certificates on the blockchain makes it very difficult for someone to duplicate. It really has the potential to eliminate or reduce the amount of fraud we see.”

The Summit Insurance chief confirmed that another aspect of this initiative to combat uninsured drivers would involve equipping the Royal Bahamas Police Force with hand-held scanners the size of cell phones, so they could randomly scan vehicle licence plates.

This would “take them into the Road Traffic Department database and they would know right away that vehicle’s insurance is active or has expired”, Mr Ingraham added, indicating he had received word the Government was about to resume work on Road Traffic’s digitisation.

“I’ve been asking questions about it, and I understand the new team in place is moving that forward, and expects approval to move it forward any day now,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll start to see that come on stream early in the New Year when we start to deal with some of these issues.”

Mr Ingraham disclosed there had also been discussions at the BIA level about creating an “insurance disc”, which would carry the underwriter’s name and date of policy expiry, and be placed on the inside of auto windscreens. This, he added, would enable the police to better check whether the vehicle was insured until the digital solution was implemented.

“Something like that probably needs to be looked at,” he added. “It’s a problem from the perspective of an uninsured driver getting into an accident, and someone in the other vehicle is injured. Who pays their medical bills?

“I’ve seen where bread winners are badly injured or killed, and the insurer pays out a robust amount of money in some cases to ensure victims and their families retain a reasonable quality of life. It’s critical that vehicles be insured if they are on the roads. The potential to ruin somebody’s life is quite high.”

The Summit chief executive, asked how many Bahamian drivers are likely uninsured, replied: “The last time we did any type of estimation was several years ago. Brian Self led the effort. He estimated about that about 30 percent of vehicles on the roads are uninsured.

“That was a few years back, and it’s not too difficult to believe at this point that it has become higher. We have more vehicles on the road these days, and you imagine we have more people in financial difficulties who elect not to become insured.”

Comments

IslandWarrior says...

> Addressing Uninsured Drivers: Why PTI
> Bahamas' 2019 Proposal Offers the
> Answer

The current discussion around uninsured drivers on Bahamian roads underscores the urgency of implementing PTI Bahamas' comprehensive 2019 proposal, which directly addresses this critical issue. While concerns about the 30% uninsured driver rate and the devastating impact on accident victims are valid, the solution lies in the blueprint laid out in our proposal three years ago.

Our proposal, developed in collaboration with experts and stakeholders, provided a roadmap for modernizing the Road Traffic Department (RTD) and tackling the challenges of uninsured vehicles. Key elements included:

Establishing a new RTD facility equipped with technology to:

- Issue digital driver's licenses and
vehicle registrations efficiently.

Conduct comprehensive vehicle
inspections, including emissions
testing, which would identify and
flag uninsured vehicles.

Implement a digital system linking
the RTD, police, and insurance
companies, seamlessly verifying
insurance status and eliminating
loopholes.

> This modernized system would empower
> law enforcement:

- To quickly identify and impound
uninsured vehicles, deter risky
behaviour and protect innocent
citizens.

To access real-time insurance data,
streamlining investigations and
accident response.

> The benefits extend beyond immediate
> safety:

- Reduced burden on victims: Ensured
access to compensation for damages
and medical expenses from accidents
involving uninsured drivers.

Reduced financial strain on the
public healthcare system.

> Increased revenue for the RTD: The
> proposal outlined opportunities for
> new services and revenue streams, like
> traffic school for violators.

The 2019 proposal was met with positive feedback from industry partners but received a mostly negative response from government ' technical' officials and the Cabinet Minister under the Minnis Administration. While delays are unfortunate, the recent Tribune article demonstrates renewed awareness of the problem. We at PTI Bahamas urge the relevant authorities to revisit our proposal and consider its potential to make Bahamian roads safer for everyone.

> [To address this issue, it is
> recommended to establish an
> independent body that comprises
> industry stakeholders, including the
> police, insurance companies, banks,
> customs, and emergency medical
> services. This body should operate
> independently and without being
> influenced by the inherent and
> historic corruption within the
> Department. By creating such an
> independent body, we can ensure that
> decisions are made impartially and
> with the best interest of all
> stakeholders in mind.]

Posted 19 December 2023, 2:30 p.m. Suggest removal

ThisIsOurs says...

First truth, **insurance wont prevent bad driving**. The accidents will continue to happen as long as people who cant drive can by some miracle obtain a license. They will continue to happen until the presence of the police is felt prosecuting people for the minor road infractions. They eill continue to happen as people drive under the influence of marijuana and alcohol.

**The first goal is not to have more insurance to cover the multitude of accidents. The first goal is to lower the accident rate.**

Posted 19 December 2023, 6:40 p.m. Suggest removal

IslandWarrior says...

The Bahamas Road Traffic Department has a complete monopoly over the issuance of licenses, plates, and inspection decals. This has led to a history of issues, including corruption within the agency. Until the department's monopoly is broken and authority is placed in the hands of trustworthy individuals, these issues will continue to persist. The current state of affairs at the department is similar to that of a criminal enterprise. It is essential that changes are made to tackle the problem of uninsured vehicles and address the broader issue of criminal activity in the country. ...All of this stems from (the well-known) weakness of the Road Traffic Department and the years of some protecting their criminal enterprise.

Posted 19 December 2023, 10:07 p.m. Suggest removal

bahamianson says...

Is it against the law to drive without a license?

Posted 19 December 2023, 8:36 p.m. Suggest removal

Sickened says...

It's against the law to use public money to fund a political parties trip to Bermuda. Does it happen? Hell yeah! Laws that are only made so that certain people can prosecute certain people whenever they choose to. Our laws are not to be followed by all people at all times.

Posted 20 December 2023, 9 a.m. Suggest removal

Dawes says...

This comes up every year. Then there is some hand wringing and then no changes. nothing will happen, just be prepared to read that next year it is 35%

Posted 20 December 2023, 9:22 a.m. Suggest removal

ExposedU2C says...

Many people I know stopped paying auto insurance premiums, auto registration fees and driver's license fees, etc. years ago. Apparently there is a thriving black market for fake auto title papers, auto insurance certificates, fake vehicle registrations, fake license plates, fake license plate stickers, fake drivers' licenses, etc., all for less than about $80 per vehicle.

People who can hardly afford to put some gasoline in their gas tank or buy a little feed for themselves or their hungry family members now comprise an ever growing majority of our population who live by a simple rule: "If I ain't got it to pay, I gotta somehow make do cause it ain't gonna get paid."

The fools are now the ones paying outrageous auto insurance premiums. These wealthier folks often find they need to hire a lawyer to help them get their insurance claims processed.

Posted 20 December 2023, 4:16 p.m. Suggest removal

IslandWarrior says...

But, "People who struggle to afford basic necessities such as gas and food often find themselves in accidents just like anyone else. Unfortunately, regardless of their income, the cost of these accidents with uninsured drivers is not a matter of public interest. Once the debris is cleared and the initial curiosity fades away, the victim is left to deal with the aftermath, including medical bills and adjusting to any changes in their life if they survive. The only people who benefit from this human tragedy that this country is living with are the operators and owners of the criminal enterprise down at the RTD and their related entities.

> My bigger question is: Why is this
> 'publicly known secret' of corruption
> not a matter of criminal investigation
> like so many other crimes in this
> country?" How difficult can it be to
> track down a 10 Million Dollar per
> annum Vehicle License Plates, Driver's
> License and other secure documents
> 'criminal enterprise' that every
> Bahamian (and their dog) knows
> exists?

Posted 21 December 2023, 1:48 a.m. Suggest removal

ExposedU2C says...

The police are no more able to shut down criminal enterprises in the Bahamas than they are able to find stolen vehicles on our small islands. Besides, you miss the key point. These types of criminal enterprises thrive in countries ruled by a corrupt political hierarchy where the citizenry are forced to become criminals in order to survive their substandard living conditions and overall poor and miserable quality of life. In case you haven't noticed, our country is becoming more and more like Haiti with each passing day, with a now humongous divide between the "haves" and "have nots."

Posted 21 December 2023, 11:11 a.m. Suggest removal

IslandWarrior says...

The thing is, most of the "have-nots" shouldn't even be here in the first place. That's the bigger issue that we have allowed to get out of control.

Posted 22 December 2023, 8:47 a.m. Suggest removal

ExposedU2C says...

Human trafficking is a highly profitable occupation for many well connected muck-a-mucks within the hierarchy of the corrupt Davis led PLP government.

Posted 22 December 2023, 5:03 p.m. Suggest removal

Log in to comment