Three Killed in Separate Motorcycle Accidents, Police Renew Road Safety Warnings

Police are once again urging drivers to exercise caution after three fatal road traffic accidents were recorded across the country in the past week alone.

Assistant Superintendent of Police Stacy Smith said the department has been increasing operations to curb road fatalities. “For quite some time the department, along with the Ministry of Transport, has been liaising and engaging in joint operation with a view to curb these incidents,” she said.

Smith said officers have been cracking down on traffic offences countrywide. “For this year alone, a total of 1,846 arrests have been made for traffic offences and violations. 160 of those are in relation to persons who are arrested under the suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.”

Smith added that about 40 police and transport officers are currently in training to improve enforcement. She said new legislation is also being discussed, and it could include stricter penalties, introduce new offences, and possibly add criminal sentences.

“It would want to appear that the legislation as it stands now does not serve the deterrence purpose since many people continue to violate the law,” Smith added.

The latest motorcycle fatalities include Thursday’s RTA that claimed the life of 18-year-old student Jonni Cano at the intersection of Saint Jude and Saint Matthews Streets in the San Martin area of Belmopan. The second was the death of 25-year-old Derrel Montero, who died after crashing his motorcycle into a guardrail in Teakettle Village on Friday, October 17. The third incident happened hours later on Saturday, October 18, when 32-year-old Maritzo Cho and 30-year-old Herald Ack lost their lives in a similar crash at Mile 21 on the Hummingbird Highway.