Chief Prosecutor Hopes New Traffic Ordinance Soon Implemented

The decision to implement traffic controls checking on intoxicated drivers, clearly shows the need for a new and updated ordinance. Photo: BES-Reporter

Kralendijk- Chief Public Prosecutor for the BES Islands, Bote ter Steege, hopes that a new traffic ordinance will soon be implemented on Bonaire. Ter Steege made his comments yesterday, during an extraordinary session of the Joint Court of Justice on Bonaire.

“The Traffic Ordinance in place on Bonaire dates back to 1957. In 1980, these were slightly more than 9,000 inhabitants. On January 1, 2017, Bonaire had just over 19,000 inhabitants. The expectation is that in 2025 Bonaire will have about 25,000 inhabitants”, said Ter Steege.

According to the Chief Prosecutor it will be clear to everyone that car ownership has increased correspondingly on Bonaire with the growth in population. In addition, according to Ter Steege, the continuous growth of tourism as also caused the addition of scooters, motorcycles, bikes and a range of electric vehicles.

“What is the Road Traffic Regulation for?” asked Ter Steege, before answering the question.

“In brief; by setting and continuing to (continuously) adjust rules to the constantly changing circumstances, residents and visitors of Bonaire can safely continue to participate in traffic. This is not only a right of all road users, but above all a task for the government. In addition to preventing major human suffering, wearing a helmet and compulsory wearing of belts ensures that fewer medical costs have to be incurred”, according to Ter Steege.

Ter Steege also said that the discussion about the necessity of arriving at a new Road Traffic Regulation had, in his view, recently received a new impulse in response to the alcohol control recently carried out by the local Police

In the press release about the results of the alcohol control, attention was also drawn to the fact that drunk drivers are regularly involved in collisions on Bonaire. “With a new Traffic Ordinance it will become possible for the police to act much faster and more often against drivers under influence, for instance by carrying out breath analysis”, said Ter Steege.

The new boss at the Prosecutor’s Office for the Bonaire, St. Eustatis and Saba said that his organization is following the further decision-making about the new Traffic Ordinance by Island Council ‘with interest’.