Amid a surge in road fatalities, Vice President of the National Association of Driving Schools, Kingston Jean has called for stricter enforcement of road rules, a crackdown on indiscipline, and even mandatory refresher courses for long-time drivers to renew their licences.
In an exclusive interview with St Lucia Times, he stressed the importance of discipline, enforcement, and education in reversing the troubling trend.
He identified speeding as a major contributor to increasing road crashes.
Calling on drivers to reduce their speeds, Jean warned: “The faster you drive, the less time you have to stop and the less time you have to assess the situation. Once you run out of time, you also run out of space.”
He pointed to a glaring enforcement gap, particularly during early morning and late-night hours when drivers exceed speed limits, often while under the influence of alcohol.
“We need more police officers on the roads at these critical times,” the driving expert said, emphasising the role of law enforcement in curbing reckless behaviour.
Beyond enforcement, Jean stressed the importance of education in fostering safer driving habits. He said driving schools can help to instill the right attitudes in new drivers.
He criticised the approach of focusing solely on physical driving skills while neglecting the mental challenges of safe driving, such as staying calm in emergency situations.
“It’s not just about teaching someone to handle a vehicle. It’s about shaping their mental capacity to assess and respond to the road environment,” Jean said.
To address these gaps, the National Association of Driving Schools conducts educational programmes targeting young students, teaching road safety basics like wearing helmets and reflective clothing, using seat belts, and crossing roads safely.
Jean believes that instilling these habits early will create responsible drivers in the future. However, he also highlighted the impact of the bad habits of more experienced drivers on new drivers. He cited common issues, such as failing to return to the left lane after overtaking, as behaviours that perpetuate dangerous driving culture.
“We need to address this culture of bad driving habits among seasoned drivers,” he contended.
Jean proposed periodic re-education for drivers renewing their licences. He suggested that long-time drivers should retake practical exams to refresh their knowledge and skills, particularly around critical practices like proper use of roundabouts and shoulder checks.
“Over time, we forget certain habits that could save lives. A refresher would help ensure that we are all driving as safely as we can,” he added.
While some drivers resist the idea of continuous driver education, Jean insists that both new and experienced drivers must recognise they have a responsibility for the safety of others using the road.
He believes Saint Lucia can significantly reduce road fatalities and improve overall road safety if a multifaceted approach is taken to road safety, including stricter enforcement, enhanced education for drivers, and a cultural shift toward more responsible driving practices.
It’s not just speeding, or driving above the speed limit that causes accidents, rather it is drivers incorrect decision making, such as overtaking when it is not safe to do so. The speed limit in Saint Lucia is 40 mph, and 10 to 15 mph in built up areas, unless you’re going up and down the Castries-Gros Islet highway, almost everyone drives above the speed limit, including nuns and priests and grandpa! So it all depends on how and where one drives at a certain speed.
Pure crap about long time drivers.
Waste of time to teach me what?
Please let us know of the age group of drivers in serious accidents, who is at fault, their driving experience.
Before critiquing individual’s and their driving habits, we need to start looking inwards, one of the first places I would be investigating is the driving schools. I would first reevaluate your program, something has to be lacking. You have failed miserably in your goal of helping one achieve a safe driving environment in St.Lucia. Few use their indicators to signal their intentions. To me, this is one of many recipes for disaster. This should be common sense and trivial. If we cannot instill the basic laws of driving in your students, then you definitely should not be in this business. It appears to me from this article, you are placing all the blame on the drivers, without looking inwards at what the driving schools are doing, because whatever it is, it’s not working. While I do understand the drivers have a big part to play in all this. It always start with your establishment. We either need new management with new ideas or nothing will change. The government should have a big part to play also in evaluating and monitoring your programs. Making sure these schools deliver what’s promised, quality drivers and safe roads. If not they should be replaced.,
Aren’t y’all the ones teaching people how to drive? I see car instructors park in dedicated bus parking areas. They stop anywhere to pick up passengers. They park on side walks. What then do you expect the students to emulate. I drive within speed limit. I follow road rules. Why should I have to retake any exam? That’s like telling me I pass CXC and because someone else fail, I have to go do the exam again. What crazy proposal is that? How about a demerit system for perpetrators? How about revoking driving privileges for X years for reckless drivers? How about increased insurance premiums for the culprits?
The man is on point! Now onto the incompetents: aka Transport Ministry (policy and strategic action) and Traffic Police (enforcement) !!! BTW, there are few driving instructors that do not know what the hell that theya re doing–like making learners switch lanes WITHIN a roundabout when both lanes are leading to the same direction eg) approaching Sunny Acres Roundabout from Massy Stores/ Frienship Inn and they going Gros Islet…instead of them staying in the inside lane of the roundabout, they start merging into the leftlan while traversing WITHIN the roundabout– i see they do it almost everyday!!!