Cops report mild traffic, less speeding on Monday

Senior Superintendent of the police Traffic and Highway Patrol Unit Wayne Mystar says there was a generally mild volume of traffic on the nations roads, Monday night as police in various divisions began a series of exercises to deter errant drivers and criminals.

During a police media briefing on Monday Police Commissioner Gary Griffith said there was a noticeable increase in activity in the hours leading up to 'H Hour' (the time when curfew comes into effect) and noted a trend where some people would lime and socialise for as long as possible then speed home to avoid being caught at the last minute.

Griffith announced that a series of police exercises would be launched from Monday evening as a deterrent to avoid such behaviour in the future.

Speaking with Newsday on Tuesday, Mystar said officers began a series of exercises between 7 pm and 9 pm in various divisions.

"We would have focused on speed exercises, DUI testing, stop and searches and the general detection exercises which would have included patrols.

"The volume of traffic would have varied between locations and time periods but it was overall mild.

"By tonight (Tuesday) night and tomorrow night there would be a much better indication of how effective the exercises were to deter others from speeding."

Newsday also spoke to police Road Safety Co-ordinator Sgt Brent Batson who said while the traffic on the road was generally the same compared to other nights, there was a noticeable decrease in the number of speeding drivers.

"It's a continuous exercise but this was definitely the intended result we were looking for.

"We want people to reach their destination safely and again we are asking the public to be cautious in their driving and if stopped by an officer comply and answer their questions."

Contacted for comment president of Arrive Alive Sharon Inglefield said she supported the new strategy to clamp down on errant drivers citing the death of 49-year-old Sadhna Ramcharan in Debe on Monday morning.

"I support the Commissioner with regards to the speed traps, the DUI checks and so on.

"We are hopeful this will be effective in trying to reduce accidents on the road and we congratulate him for his efforts."