Orange Walk Leads the Nation in Drunk Driving Arrests Stats

Orange Walk Town has registered the most police arrests for the offense of drunk driving.  According to statistics coming out of the Police Department, over two hundred people across the country have been arrested for drunk driving since January. The report notes that between January and November, a total of 215 people were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. A breakdown shows that Orange Walk had the most arrests, with 54, followed by Benque Viejo Del Carmen with 30, and San Pedro with 26. Meanwhile, Belize City had 24, Placencia only had 2, and Caye Caulker had zero. The issue of drunk driving has taken center stage in recent weeks, as the country witnessed a major spike in fatal road traffic incidents. Yesterday, the Police Northern Regional Commander, Senior Superintendent Christopher Noble, spoke on the statistics and explained that this year alone 22 people lost their lives to traffic incidents in the Orange Walk District alone. 

Sen.Sup.Christopher Noble, Northern Regional Commander: “Alarming is when you read the statistics and say “the police aren’t doing anything.” We try and you get that call, “Can you help my friend?” You get that call “He is not a bad person. He can be given a break.” But can you be given that break when you have destroyed a family? You know, you have pushed away a breadwinner and the family is just torn to bits. You know and on statistics, the Orange Walk District has seen 22 fatalities for 2024. So because it’s 2024, maybe we’ll do 24. But we surpassed murders when it comes to traffic fatalities a long time ago. And in 22 fatalities, 14 involving motorcycles. When we look at our statistics, it tells you that only one of the 14 accidents was a Honda. Everything else, AKT, Hunley, Leifan, Milan, they’re within the price range of $2,000, $3,000. You know, the people that die, recently we saw, not in our area, thankfully, but it should not have happened when a 13-year-old is on a motorbike on a major road. I see child neglect. And that’s only an opinion. But when you have, within the Orange Walk District when it comes to all fatalities, it is… 17 to 30. The youth are becoming extinct. They  are an endangered species.”

Amid the uptick in fatal RTAs, the public has called on the authorities to increase their presence on the road and increase the penalties for traffic violations. Senior Superintendent Noble noted that while it is something the police will do, he believes the public has a shared responsibility in ensuring they obey the rules of the road. 

Sen.Sup.Christopher Noble, Northern Regional Commander: “Alcohol and any motor vehicle do not mix. I believe years ago there was a road safety initiative, I did an informercial on it. I said that then and I’ll say this now. Eight lanes of highway is too small for somebody that’s inebriated. Eight lanes! It’s too small! Because something got in his way and with current trends the amount of tickets issued, the amount of persons arrested, and the amount of people that have said “oh, the police only wanted to hustle me.” Then hustle yourself and go to court, pay the fine. But I’ll tell you that of the almost 300 persons that have been dealt with over this year we work closely with the magistrates. So we’re going to ask for the warrants to be issued. And whenever you are met, the warrant says, and I’m not advocating but I’m explaining, that the warrant says to the keeper of the prison, the Orange Walk Police Station is not the keeper of the prison. So if you’re met, you will be handed over to the keeper of the prison. That might be an extreme exercise because “oh, he was only driving without insurance. Why will you take him to prison?” But how extreme can we get?”

Noble appeared on the Despierta Belice morning show in Orange Walk Town.