A new Road Traffic Accident Investigation Policy will come into effect on Sunday, September 15, which will see members of The Barbados Police Service (TBPS) mainly responding to fatalities and serious injuries.
In addition, police officers will attend road traffic collisions if a pedestrian is involved; there is a mass casualty traffic event; and a situation where there is a likely breach of the peace or acts of suspected criminality. They will also go to the scene of an accident if the free flow of traffic has been severely interrupted or where there is a road safety issue.
This announcement was made today during a press conference to discuss the new policy, at the Henry Forde and David Simmons Legal and Judicial Complex, Coleridge Street, Bridgetown.
Those participating in the conference were Attorney General Dale Marshall; Commissioner of Police Richard Boyce; TBPS’ Communications & Public Affairs Officer, Inspector Rodney Inniss; President of the General Insurance Association of Barbados (GIAB), Randy Graham; and Insurance Executive Anton Lovell.
Inspector Inniss underscored the importance of this new initiative, explaining that serious injuries and fatalities would continue to be investigated by the police, while the insurance industry officials have agreed to attend the non-injury accidents.
The Communications & Public Affairs Officer stated: “We in The Barbados Police Service have recognised the overwhelming number of road traffic accidents we have serviced, particularly in the last decade or so….
“On average, about 7,500 accidents are investigated annually. Of those 7,500, a large percentage, 71 per cent on average, are just damage only accidents, what you would normally call fender benders, no injuries whatsoever.”
Attorney General Marshall said he supported the new initiative which the police would be embarking on, especially since officials were trying to address the manpower needs of the service.
He noted that thousands of hours were spent yearly attending or investigating traffic accidents.
“Now, you may say that is an important part of public service, it certainly is. But in a situation where we are dealing with a deficit in terms of the boots we have on the ground, we need to see how we can more efficiently utilise police resources so that they can dedicate their time dealing with the more serious offenses, and immediately, of course, guns and homicides, burglaries, those kinds of things will come to mind.
“So, this is a proposition from the police service that I, as AG, support. I’m happy to say that the insurance industry supports it. And my mission here, really, is to ask Barbados to walk with us through this. It represents a complete transformation from what we are accustomed to, but it is a transformation that I think is in the best interest of this society,” Mr. Marshall said.
GIAB’s President, Randy Graham, said the insurance industry is in full support of the new policy.
“The country has to make a difficult decision, and the best decision is to use those resources towards more serious issues…. We’ve seen very high quality work by the police in coming to this decision, and that’s why we are in full support of the decision. It’s not one that was taken lightly….
“The insurance companies pay out between $85 and $90 million to clients for vehicular accidents every year. Ninety per cent of those accidents do not require a police report; 90 per cent of those accident [claims] are paid…within a few weeks, without any intervention necessary by the police, because the accident is determined between the statements from the two drivers…. Many times the police are at the scene and they take measurements and a report, that are not required,” Mr. Graham pointed out.
The officials noted that responders from the insurance companies had undergone training by The Barbados Police Service, which was structured to help investigators from the insurance companies gather the required information to facilitate any future civil action.