Video: Roadside Sobriety Bill Discussion

July 19, 2018

Deputy Premier and Minister of Transport and Regulatory Affairs Walter Roban and Transport Control Director Jasmin Smith held a ’roundtable discussion’ this morning [July 19] regarding the Roadside Sobriety Checkpoint bill.

Yesterday the Government said, ““The Roadside Sobriety Checkpoint Bill includes three notable points:

  • “A road sobriety checkpoint is a specific kind of roadblock, arranged on public roads, that allows for the administration of breath tests to determine whether a motorist is driving while intoxicated. They serve to prevent motorists from driving under the influence of alcohol by detecting drivers who violate the traffic laws.
  • “Checkpoints can be requested by the Bermuda Police Service when there is reasonable suspicion that incidents involving the consumption of alcohol may take place [Bermuda Heroes Weekend, Cup Match, etc.] All requests must be submitted to the Senior Magistrate.
  • “Notice advising the public of the date and parish in which the road sobriety testing will occur will be published in the Gazette 5-14 days before the date of the checkpoint.”

The Roadside Sobriety Checkpoint Bill has passed the House and Senate and has now moved to Governor Rankin’s office for final assent.

Update: The live broadcast has concluded and the 29-minute replay is below

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Comments (18)

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  1. Kim Smith says:

    Do we want to impact and influence the very high level of driving under the influence (that we ALL know goes on daily here in Bermuda)? Or do we just want to keep talking about it? I think the latter! Very disappointing.

  2. Wahoo says:

    Awesome will random testing of parliamentarians follow?

    • sandgrownan says:

      What about testing for veed?

      • sage says:

        Don’t you think heroin, crack, meth, fentanyl, ecstasy, cocaine, ritalin, adderall, or any pharmaceutical which clearly states ‘do not use before operating a vehicle’ may be of more concern to safety? Or should we pretend they don’t exist?

  3. covfefery says:

    If you want to actually stop drunk driving, allow Uber and Lyft to operate.

    • frank says:

      no need for uber or lyft here island to dam small

    • gotcha says:

      And who would be driving those Uber cars?

      So let’s face it. That would never work.

  4. BermudianLova says:

    Same old song and dance. Absolutely useless. Can you PLEASE provide options for people to get home safely after a few drinks. Taxi’s suck, they are expensive and never show up. Provide options for people to get home. Start an UBER or lyft or late night buses. COME ON already.

    • sage says:

      Would you want to put sloppy, belligerent addicts with a tendency for violence, no sense of personal responsibility and generally bad behavior,in your nice clean vehicle to urinate and vomit all over the place?

      • Anbu says:

        Then domt sign up to do it. Simple

        • Sid says:

          Exactly! The taxi drivers in Bermuda have it so easy that they can’t be bothered to do their jobs when people need them, lest their precious cars get a bit dirty or they have to associate with *gasp* inebriated people.

          If they allowed rental cars in Bermuda, it would make the taxi drivers a bit hungrier, and hopefully a little bit less precious about who they pick up, when and where.

          • Reuben says:

            Well, you’ve never owned or operated a taxi on this island.

  5. Truth is killin’ me... says:

    Dis her iz nuffin but FLUFF! These people ain’t seruz.

  6. frank says:

    no need for them here

  7. frank says:

    these test should be at random why let people know when you are going to be checking for drunk driving
    at present police are at east broadway late at night never at 7 or 8pm

  8. Reuben says:

    Still waiting to see what increases are given the Police for all of this

  9. spider says:

    This is a violation of the Constitution Section 5 “Protection from arbitrary arrest or detention” You cannot say that there is a reasonable suspicion that everyone or anyone is drunk driving because it is a public holiday so therefore I can arbitrarily detain you even though you may have a designated driver or have not been drinking and you were in the area of the event. The reasonable suspicion clause has to apply to the individual being stopped “for cause” not because you happened to be leaving an event.