The solution to road carnage is not the installation of cable barriers, but action against aggressive drivers caught speeding on the nations roads, Minister of Works and Infrastructure Jack Warner said yesterday.
And soon lawless drivers may be charged, using images from closed-circuit cameras, he said.
Warner said: "The answer has to be that we go and copy the English model. We have cameras now throughout the length and breadth of the country where people can be charged based on cameras, and where in two weeks' time they pay their fines. After three fines they are banned (from driving)."
Speaking at the launch of the Woodford Lodge Workforce Development Technology Centre in Chaguanas, Warner said road carnage occurs for four reasons - speed, alcohol, inexperience and stupidity. He recalled the latest fatal crash in which acting Justice Wendell Kangaloo was critically injured on Sunday.
Warner said: "People make the point to me and say build cable barriers. How many would you build and how high will you build them? That can't be the answer. The answer has to be road discipline."
Warner visited Kangaloo at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mt Hope following the crash on Sunday.
Warner said Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has informed Kangaloo's relatives that Government will ensure he gets the best medical treatment, even to transfer him abroad if necessary.
Director of Highways Roger Ganesh agreed yesterday that cable barriers alone will not solve the road carnage. He said laws need to be enforced and drivers found breaking these laws should be prosecuted.
Ganesh said approval was granted to continue installation of cable barriers along the Uriah Butler Highway and concrete barriers in Trincity.
"We had a problem with funding at the start of the year. But we got approval and we will soon be inviting tenders," he said.