Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 09/12/2025 08:18

$$ for motor victims

A MOTOR vehicle’s a dangerous thing. In the wrong hands, a car can cause damage, suffering, injury and even death. Each year, according to government projections, there are 4,208 cases of bodily injury and fatality because of vehicles. Of these, 30 per cent involve uninsured, untraced or untraceable drivers who have sped off. That leaves hundreds upon hundreds of victims and grieving relatives economically exposed, with absolutely no compensation for job loss, injury, hospital stays or related expenses such as physiotherapy. So, Davendranath Tancoo’s promise to operationalise, at long last, a motor vehicle accident fund to cover such cases is welcome news. Speaking with this newspaper on December 7, the Minister of Finance disclosed that the Kamla Persad-Bissessar administration is moving to act on this issue by the first quarter of 2026. But we have heard such promises before. In 2007, Patrick Manning, then prime minister and minister of finance, announced the state would use the proceeds of the insurance premium tax to establish a pool of money that could help victims. However, by 2013 the funds were not being accessed by the public as intended, even as portions of premiums were being set aside. Larry Howai, then finance minister, announced the six per cent tax on premiums would be used to establish a revamped fund, called the Motor Vehicle Accident Fund. Cabinet approval, and a reported $20 million seeding, followed the next year. Yet, a court of appeal ruling last year disclosed that premium money collected for compensation between 2008 and 2017 was merely placed in a suspense account and totalled over $1 billion. To date, that money’s just sitting there as citizens suffer. And suffer they do. According to statistics from the road safety lobby organisation Arrive Alive, driving without insurance is a widespread traffic violation. As of May 2025, a total of 3,640 such violations had been detected. But in 2024, a whopping 8,179 fixed penalty notices were issued. And that’s just people who have been caught. Some estimate that 40,000 uninsured vehicles are on the road. Undoubtedly, the more cars there are, the higher the figure. Significant are the claims that stand to be denied by insurance companies. Fines that might deter wrongdoing, now in the process of being bolstered, are one thing. Dealing with the aftermath of when things do in fact go wrong for road users and pedestrians is another. There’s a moral obligation on the state to tackle both. Legal cases brought over the years by lobby groups, including last year’s court of appeal case, have failed. That leaves the burden on the state to do something to protect people who, through no fault of their own, fall prey to errant drivers. Mr Tancoo must keep his word. The post $$ for motor victims appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.