PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC):
THE TRINIDAD and Tobago Government says it will soon introduce legislation empowering police to arrest drivers who are suspected of being under the influence of alcohol, and who refuse to take a breathalyser test.
Transport Minister Colm Imbert told reporters that Cabinet had agreed to the measure contained in the legislation that would soon come before Parliament.
"A person who fails or refuses to undergo a breath test would be guilty of an offence, and would be subject to certain penalties which include fines and possibly even imprisonment," Imbert told reporters.
He said the legislation had already been discussed between the Government and the Opposition, and that the amendment to the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Bill was to facilitate the introduction of the breathalyser into the country.
He said the purpose of the legislation would be to "empower police officers to demand samples of breath and in certain instances, samples of blood from persons thought to be driving under the influence of alcohol."
CONFIDENT OF OPPOSITION SUPPORT
He said the legislation would require a special majority vote in Parliament, but the Government was confident of support from the Opposition.
Imbert said the new legislation would create an offence "of driving or attempting to drive or being in charge of a motor vehicle while the concentration of alcohol in the blood exceeds a prescribed limit."
He said it would also empower the police to require persons involved in an accident to provide a specimen of breath for testing at the scene of the accident or at a police station.
Last year, more than 100 persons were killed in road accidents here.
