A number of drivers on the island continue to travel the roadways without adequate insurance coverage.
Superintendent William Yearwood, divisional commander of the Operations Support Division of the Royal Barbados Police Force, told the WEEKEND NATION that the matter continued to be a concern with which his department battled.
“We are always concerned about inadequate insurance. That is a part of our job. It is always a concern when people do not drive their vehicle with adequate insurance. They must either be third party insured or comprehensively insured because they must have insurance relative to the other persons driving on the road.
“If you strike someone, then that person should be able to get compensation,” he said. Yearwood said once a person had a vehicle on the road, there were three things that “must” be done.
“They must have a driver’s licence, their road taxes should be paid to have the vehicle on the road and the vehicle should be insured.
“We are always concerned about these things as a number of drivers continue to go on the road without having these things in place,” informed Yearwood.
He continued that while he could not offer any statistics, “we are always concerned about people having their particulars up to date with respect to vehicles on the road.
“We are also concerned about the manner in which people are driving on the road and concerned about the consideration which drivers have for other people using the road.”
President of the General Insurance Association of Barbados (GIAB), Davis Browne, echoed Yearwood’s sentiments, noting that the numbers of uninsured vehicles have been increasing over the years.
“There’s in excess of 10 000 uninsured vehicles on the road and that is a big concern. In an event of an accident where one of the uninsured vehicles is responsible and some other third party is involved, that becomes difficult for them to receive compensation for the loss or damage, so it is a big concern for us.
“It has been increasing over the years,” he said.
Administrator at the GIAB, Gina Welch, also noted that “there are too many accidents happening with uninsured drivers, so it is a concern for the insurance industry as well”. (MM)