The House of Representatives successfully passed an act further amending the Road Traffic Act, marking a significant step towards reducing road fatalities. The primary focus of the amendment is the implementation of the long-awaited breathalyzer test for drivers suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol. The new act establishes a prescribed limit for alcohol levels in drivers' blood, introducing legal procedures for breath tests to determine alcohol consumption levels. Sanctions are outlined for those exceeding the limit or refusing to comply with the testing process.

PUBLISHED WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1994

The breathalyser is here

- Road Traffic Act amendment passed by House

By COLIN BLAIR: Gleaner Staff Reporter

AN act to further amend the Road Traffic Act was passed by the House of Representatives yesterday, as the government moved to put the brakes on road fatalities.  The purpose of the amendment was to implement the introduction of the long-awaited breathalyzer test for drivers suspected of being under the influence of alcohol.

The amendment was passed without support from the Opposition, who did not vote on the bill, as they expressed reservations about it.

Minister of National Security and Justice K.D. Knight piloted the bill, He told the House that the high incidence of motor-vehicle accidents and resulting deaths continue to be a cause of grave concern.

Knight used a study done some years ago by Professor John Golding, which indicated that 45 to 50 per cent of drivers involved in road accidents, and who were hospitalised, were found to be under the influence of alcohol.

He said the Act to Further Amend the Road Traffic Act will introduce a prescribed limit to the level of alcohol that persons who are driving should have in their blood. The bill also seeks to provide for breath tests as a legal procedure for testing alcohol consumption levels among drivers.

New act

Under the new act, persons with more than 35 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millimeters of breath, and a blood alcohol concentration of 80 miligrams of alcohol in 100 millimeters of blood, will be judged to be over the legally prescribed limit.

A person who refuses to consent to the taking of air on blood specimen, or refuses to give a specimen, may, if his actions support evidence that he is intoxicated or if he refuses without reasonable grounds, be subject to sanctions.  These sanctions include a fine or imprisonment.

Opposition Spokesman on National Security and Justice, Derrick Smith, suggested that the bill be examined by a joint select committee of Parliament.  He said the Government should have cited sufficient statistical evidence to show that driving under the influence of alcohol was a major cause of road deaths. He stated that bad road conditions, defective vehicles and poor driving habits were more threatening to road users.

Expressing concern about how blood samples for testing are to be obtained from drivers, Smith said that, in a situation where drivers would be hard put to refuse, testing could lead to abuse.

Audley Shaw, also of the Opposition, supported his colleague. He pointed out that, in other countries, people were given breathalyser tests only after being arrested on another traffic offence, which gave the police reason to rest the offender.

He questioned why persons should be stopped at random to determine if they were under the influence of alcohol.  He charged that this would infringe the right of Jamaicans to freedom of movement.

On the Government side, Minister of Health Desmond Leakey and Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Education and Culture A.J. Nicholson expressed their support for the bill.

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