Drivers’ poor health – including substance abuse – has made it more difficult for several public service vehicles (PSVs) to get insurance cover.
That’s the word from general manager of CGI Consumers’ Guarantee Insurance Company Limited, Peter Harris.
Addressing a Transport Board awards ceremony at the headquarters of the Barbados Workers’ Union on Thursday night, he admitted that his company had been forced to reject several applications for minibus and other PSV insurance coverage because their drivers had not met the health grade.
Several applications
According to Harris, several buses had applied to CGI for insurance cover when it recently started this line of business.
“We insisted that we put a lot of them [drivers] through health check-ups and of the 50- or 60-odd buses that came to us, only 13 ended up being insured with us, are still insured with us, because only 13 of them actually passed the health test,” he remarked.
“This is something that is quite serious and . . . the police or the Ministry [of Transport and Works should] look into this because a lot of those public service vehicle drivers are overworked or are under the influence of something . . . .
“They have diabetic people who should not be on the road, and people who work 10 and 12 hours should not be on the road.
“You can’t do one job and come back and pick up a public service vehicle and drive on the road because you are taking somebody else’s children in the vehicle.”
Harris made the comments during a function at which the Transport Board rewarded several drivers for their outstanding record on passenger and vehicle safety.
“We wish to reach the point in the Transport Board where safety is embedded in our subconscious and we believe that can only be attained if we implement sound safety training programmes and we ensure that every member of our organisation benefits from that training,” said the Board’s general manager, Sandra Forde.
“A well-trained staff is critical to providing a safe and secure environment for public transportation passengers.” (TY)
