(Trinidad Express) Police can only detect and arrest people driving without a drivers’ license on the nation’s roads if there are informants.
TTPS Road Safety Co-ordinator Brent Batson said that there are too many who subscribe to the prehistoric thinking of “the boy can drive, he eh need no license”.
On Saturday, Roneld Deonarine, 21, who never held a drivers’ license was at the wheel of a car that killed him and his 18-year-old girlfriend Stacy Paul.
Deonarine, of Jones Street, and Paul, 18, of Garth Road, were returning home from a date when Deonarine lost control of his grandfather’s Mazda 323 hatchback along Garth Road, Williamsville.
Paul was pitched into the backseat of the vehicle and died.
Deonarine died at hospital after suffering from head and internal injuries.
Paul Mathura, father of Stacy Paul, said he was told that the Deonarine ran off the road and struck a concrete culvert, slammed into a utility pole then stopped at a gate.
The father said he believed his daughter died of a broken neck.
Deonarine was taken to the San Fernando General Hospital where he died.
Ariel Deonarine, Deonarine’s sister, said that her brother did not have a driver’s licence and he took their grandfather’s car on Friday night without them knowing.
She said her brother had been driving for two years.
Batson extended condolences to the families of the deceased on behalf of the TTPS.
Batson said that these tragedies continue to highlight the level of responsibility necessary to drive a motor vehicle on the roadway.
“Unfortunately there are many who still subscribe to the prehistoric thinking of `de boy can drive he eh need no license’. The incident exemplifies the dangers associated with operating a motor vehicle without the basic requisite training in the licensing process. What is even more disturbing was persons close to the victims were aware of the that fact but chose to condone such lawlessness and now must live with that for the rest of their lives. Why didn’t neighbours or family report it to the local police station or the Licensing Authority? We can’t act unless the information comes to us”, he said.
President of Arrive Alive Sharon Inglefield also extended condolences to the bereaved families, and called the double fatal crash “tragic for the families”.
“We appeal to all our young people to avoid undue risks and to do defensive driving lessons prior to taking the steering wheel of a vehicle to drive. Just like a pilot has to be taught to fly, we all need to be taught to drive. We are losing too many on our roads this year again. It is all avoidable”, said Inglefield.
