Drivers who habitually drive with a beer in one hand and their other hand on the wheel will face a hefty fine and six months jail, once a new Motor Vehicle Bill becomes law on the Caribbean islands of Trinidad and Tobago.
The bill, which was debated in the Senate on Tuesday (April 21), makes it an offence for a “person to drive or operate a motor vehicle while having in the cabin area…an opened bottle, container or vessel with any alcoholic beverage”.
“You see persons driving down the road with a beer in their hand …We are eliminating that. If you want to go and enjoy yourself, you park up your car and do what you have to do and get somebody else to drive you home or go with somebody else,” transport minister Stephen Cadiz warned as he piloted the Motor Vehicle Bill in the Senate.
He explained that in the “chartered buses” or the “party” or “fete” bus that goes on excursions, there will be a demarcation line beyond which there would be no alcohol.
Cadiz said there would also be a zero tolerance policy for public vehicles and vehicles for hire, whereby these drivers must have zero alcohol in their system.
“[Drivers’] breath alcohol concentration must not exceed zero microgrammes. (..) Whether you are driving a PTSC bus, a government-owned vehicle or a taxi for hire….you must be stone cold sober,” Cadiz said.
New drivers must also have a “zero blood alcohol level,” he added.
Able-bodied drivers who park in spaces designated for the disabled in supermarkets, pharmacies and other public places will also be fined up to T&T$5,000 (£525) under the new proposals.
“So your groceries will no longer cost you just $500 (if you park in these parking spots),” Cadiz warned.
Under the new law, all passengers – no longer just the driver and front passenger – will have to use seatbelts.
