Police Commissioner Lucius Thomas says a significant number of drivers who were involved in fatal motor vehicle accidents, which resulted in multiple deaths, were driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

He has, however, stressed that the police are handicapped in their operations because the breathalyser machines, used to detect the level of alcohol in the body, are not working.

"Since the start of this year, there have been 24 fatal accidents, in which two or more persons have been killed, as much as six persons have died in one accident," said Commissioner Thomas during the opening ceremony of the 60th annual conference of the Jamaica Association of Public Health Inspectors in Montego Bay, St. James, earlier this week.

He added: "A significant proportion of these accidents involve drivers who are either coming from a wake or a funeral. Although all our breathalyser machines are in a state of disrepair, we strongly believe that these drivers were either under the influence of alcohol or drugs."

Senior Superintendent Ealan Powell, head of the Police Traffic Division, disclosed yesterday that a group of experts from the United States visited the island last week to conduct a series of demonstrations with some of the modern portable breathalyser machines.

"The demonstration went well and we were satisfied with what we saw," he said. "Right now we are waiting on the Ministry of National Security to order the machines. We need about 45, but we want to start with at least 20."

A deterrent

He said the breathalyser machines would serve as a deterrent to many drivers because driving under the influence of alcohol is an offence for which they can be arrested. Their driver's licences, he said, could also be suspended or disqualified for long periods.

SSP Powell said he believes most of these drivers could have been caught before the actual accident occurred if the machines were working. According to police statistics, 296 people have so far been killed on the streets this year. This figure is 49 more than the corresponding period last year.

Over the past seven days, nine persons were killed in six fatal accidents which occurred in Clarendon, Westmoreland, St. Catherine, Kingston and Manchester.