Black Immigrant Daily News

Two persons – a man and a woman – died as a result of injuries they sustained in a motor vehicle collision along the Northern Coastal Highway in Falmouth, Trelawny on Sunday, August 7.

The deceased have been identified as 31-year-old Cherylee Payne, a hairdresser of Lilliput, and 24-year-old Maurice Thomas of Rose Heights, both in St. James.

Reports from the Falmouth police are that about 3:00 am, a Mazda Demio motorcar was travelling to Montego Bay, when on reaching a section of the Wiltshire main road, the motorcar collided in a Hino motor truck,which was parked on the left of the roadway.

Payne and Thomas, who were passengers in the Mazda Demio motorcar, received multiple injuries and were taken to hospital, where they were pronounced dead.

Two other passengers of the motorcar who were also injured, were treated and admitted in stable conditions.

Investigations continue into the incident.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Chief Justice Bryan Sykes says that going forward, there needs to be more frequent discussions between the executive and the judiciary relative to measures to strengthen the courts, including the implementation of more modern technology.

In the long-term, Sykes says this frequent dialogue can result in Jamaica having a world-class judicial system.

The top jurist was speaking at Friday’s special sitting to mark the 60th anniversary of the Court of Appeal.

According to Sykes, there have been discussions between the judiciary and the executive through Minister of Justice Delroy Chuck, but the dialogue needs to be held regularly to achieve certain outcomes.

“I think the time has come where courts need to have – and not that we haven’t had it through our Minister of Justice – but we need to have more regular and frequent dialogue with executive, where we speak about the needs of the judiciary, and put ourselves into a position to become a world-class judiciary,” said Sykes.

“The needs (of the judiciary) are not just in terms of the salaries and conditions of work, but also just keeping abreast of modern technologies that can increase productivity of the courts, because ultimately, courts are designed to resolve disputes in a timely way,” he added.

The judge said that solving disputes on a timely basis is the court’s “constitutional responsibility, and one that we must always endeavour to meet.

“… And so, it is my commitment that we will continue to do that,” assured Sykes.

Meanwhile, the island’s chief jurist said he envisions the Court of Appeal becoming a “world-class” court, and noted that efforts have been made through the increase of staff and refurbishment of that court building, to ensure efficiency of the court.

Still, he said there is the need for more staff, including transcriptionists and court reporters, to improve the speedier acquisition of transcripts of cases from the Parish Courts and Supreme Court to the Court of Appeal.

In that area, Sykes said the issue will also be improved through digitisation, with the implementation of a software to replace manual systems.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

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The Public Relations Officer of the National Association of Driving Schools has defended driving schools and blamed indiscipline for a surge in road accidents.

Kingson Jean observed that NADS has recently noted a steady increase in road collisions daily.  

As a result, Jean reminded road users that safety is their responsibility although the government, the police, and driving instructors have their role.

“Many people share the view that driving instructors are at fault for the conduct of drivers on the road,” the NADS official said in a statement to St Lucia Times.

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However Jean observed that people receive a driver’s license after satisfactorily demonstrating to the Ministry of Transport that they can control a motor vehicle in a safe, responsible, and competent manner.

He explained that to ascertain whether someone meets the minimum requirements, the well-qualified driving examiners use a criteria form prepared by the United Kingdom-based Driver & Vehicles Standards Agency.

“During a practical exam, the driving examiners in Saint Lucia use the exact criteria as their counterparts in the UK. Hence the driving instructions given to learners by instructors be it in St Lucia or the UK are indistinguishable,” the NADS PRO disclosed.

“The problem with our society is that it is plagued with indisciplined people. Learners drive as they have been taught so they can obtain a driver’s license. Once that is done, good sense flies out the window of those irresponsible drivers,” he lamented.

“They no longer adhere to traffic rules and regulations. No longer do they stop at stop signs. They forget to use the indicators. Some bus drivers overtake on the left at high speeds. And the list goes on.”

According to the NADS official, as others see their peers get away with recklessness, they copy that behaviour.

In this regard, Jean told St Lucia Times that law enforcers have agreed to implement a demerit system to penalise traffic law violators.

He said the violators would lose points which could lead to a suspension or revocation of their license.

 “This is expected to bring about a change in drivers’ attitude,” he explained.

Jean revealed that the demerit system is already in Saint Lucia’s Traffic Act.

But he said the computerised system linking the police, the courts, and the Ministry of Transport needs to be synchronised. 

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