THE LACK of working breathalyser machines and other equipment has been hampering the ability of the police to effectively curtail traffic violations. Senior Superintendent (SSP) Owen Ellington, head of the Jamaica Constabulary Force's Traffic Department, said the "...breathalyser programme is near collapse now because of lack of repairs to equipment".
SSP Ellington, who is also a board member of the National Road Safety Council (NRSC), said the police traffic department is in need of proper equipment to effectively monitor motorists and prevent road traffic violations.
EQUIPMENT OVERWORKED
"We need equipment to work with and those that we had at the beginning of the year, we have overworked them and they broke down. In terms of doing the kind of surveillance we wanted to do, we were not able to expand on it," the senior superintendent said. He said the Bureau of Standards of Jamaica has since labelled the breathylaser machines incapable of carrying out the purpose for which the police intended.
"Most of them are so worn that it is uneconomical to repair them and they ought to be replaced," he explained.
The breathalyser machines, named Intoxilyser 5000, were introduced in 1995 to be used to test the alcohol level of motorists suspected of drinking and driving. The police were provided with 35 machines. However, it was not long before they had to turn over some of the machines to the Bureau of Standards to effect repairs to them.
But SSP Ellington told The Gleaner yesterday that provisions are being made in the Police Force's budget for next year for the purchase of new and different machines. He, however, said the cost and the specific type to be bought have not yet been determined.
NO SPEED DETECTORS
He added that the police have virtually no speed detectors and as a result, are not able to properly detect speeding violations committed by motorists. He pointed out that the mobility of the police is also being affected by lack of enough service vehicles. "The mobility has not improved. Although we have trained and deployed more people they are on foot."
"There is little they can do on foot when they are dealing with people who are committing moving violations because we believe most of the fatal accidents are caused by moving violations, speeding, improper overtaking, running traffic lights and failure to wear safety devices," he said.
