That is a question Commissioner of Police Verne Garde, and the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force must confront.
Saint Lucia already has road traffic laws. The police have the authority and responsibility to enforce them. Indeed, the RSLPF itself has previously acknowledged the need for increased enforcement, promising in January 2025 “more frequent and sustained vehicular checkpoints” as part of efforts to improve road safety.
The question now is whether enforcement is sufficiently visible, consistent and sustained to influence behaviour.
Every day, motorists witness conduct on our roads that should concern us: dangerous overtaking, excessive speeding, disregard for road signs and markings, improper parking and other forms of reckless driving. Public education is important. Appeals for motorists to exercise greater responsibility are necessary. But appeals alone cannot be the country's principal road-safety strategy.
If drivers will not regulate themselves, the State has an obligation to intervene, as argued by the Prime Minister when he argued that the police should use the laws on the books to restore order.
This intervention does not mean indiscriminate policing or treating every motorist like a criminal. It means predictable and professional enforcement of laws that already exist.
Issue the tickets. Conduct regular traffic operations. Establish checkpoints where appropriate. Increase police visibility in areas known for dangerous driving. Target speeding and reckless overtaking. Enforce parking and other traffic regulations. And, importantly, do these things consistently rather than through occasional enforcement campaigns that disappear after a few days.
There is evidence that the system itself has previously struggled with enforcement. A historical Audit Department review of traffic-ticket management found serious weaknesses, including tickets that were not ultimately lodged with the courts, undermining their deterrent effect. More recently, the District Court has had to warn motorists about outstanding traffic-ticket fines and the possibility of warrants being issued for non-payment.
Enforcement therefore cannot end when a ticket is written. There must be an effective chain from detection, to ticketing, to payment or prosecution, to the appropriate consequence for persistent offenders.
This is ultimately about changing behaviour.
People generally modify behaviour when consequences become credible and predictable. A driver who believes there is little chance of being stopped may continue taking risks. But when motorists know that speeding, reckless overtaking or other violations are likely to result in enforcement, the calculation begins to change.
The RSLPF has also received additional manpower. Ninety-six new officers graduated in January 2026, strengthening the Force's operational capacity. And in June, the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council publicly called for comprehensive road-safety and traffic-management reforms, pointing to the wider social and economic consequences of collisions.
So Commissioner Garde, perhaps it is time for a sustained national traffic-enforcement programme.
Give it six months. Increase patrols. Issue tickets consistently. Target known problem areas and dangerous behaviours. Improve follow-through on outstanding tickets. Tow/clamp vehicles being advertised for sale or parked along roadsides. Publish enforcement statistics. Measure collisions and offences. Then tell the country whether behaviour has changed.
Not one weekend. Not one operation after a serious collision. Not sporadic checkpoints.
Drivers unquestionably have the first responsibility for their conduct. Every person who gets behind the wheel has a duty to protect passengers, pedestrians and other road users.
But when voluntary compliance is insufficient, the law exists for a reason.
Education must continue. Better roads and signage matter. Driver responsibility remains essential. But enforcement must form part of the solution.
The Commissioner should therefore tell the public what sustained enforcement strategy the RSLPF intends to implement and when motorists can expect to see it consistently on Saint Lucia's roads.
A law that is rarely enforced risks becoming a law that people no longer fear breaking.