Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Nov 24, 2025

‘Once you start living here & have more time… you notice more’- Ex CoP Matthews

‘Once you start living here & have more time… you notice more’- Ex CoP Matthews

Ex-Commissioner of Police Michael B. Matthews has said now that he is no longer the Commissioner of Police and just a regular civilian in the Virgin Islands (VI) he is noticing more and understanding the anger of Virgin Islanders on certain issues.

“There is absolutely no doubt about it, that once you start living here and you have more time on your hands, you notice more,” he said on the December 11, 2022, edition of Talking Points on ZBVI 780 AM with co-hosts Violet Thomas-Gaul and Damion C. Grange.

“You see things and begin to now understand why people get so angry about what at the time, may have just been something amongst a number of things that I would have been dealing with,” he added.

VI roads 'extremely dangerous' 

Turning attention to VI’s roads, traffic and local taxis, he said there remain some very unsafe practices on VI’s roads.

“There are a lot of people that do not understand, for example, the dual carriageway and the fact that you see taxis and cars stopping in the outside lane, which is the overtaking lane, and they'll stop and drop people off right in the path of oncoming traffic.” 

“I've seen taxis stopping in the middle of the roundabout and letting the public off, extremely dangerous. This is not about bashing taxi drivers you know, we've got a lot of very good taxi drivers and doing a great job for tourism and for the territory,” he said.

The ex-Police Commissioner questioned who would be liable if a passenger gets injured while exiting a vehicle at a dangerous point, “You know the driver of the vehicle should be looking for a safe place for that passenger,” he added.

Wrong vehicles for local roads- Mr Matthews 

Meanwhile, he said due to vehicles often coming from the US and the majority being left-hand drive, there are doors on the wrong side, which puts passengers in more danger.

Mr Grange suggested that vehicles transporting passengers should have the correct right-hand drive vehicle for the road and that the road is an unsafe system where the blame should not only be on the drivers.

The former top cop said vehicle drop-off points and pickup locations are also continuously being ignored, which adds to more dangers in road traffic. He also urged drivers to put on their hazard lights if they have to stop, so the traffic knows something is happening.

The Former top cop was a guest on the December 11, 2022, edition of Talking Points on ZBVI 780am with co-hosts Violet Thomas-Gaul and Damien C. Grange.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
UK Unveils Critical-Minerals Strategy to Break China Supply-Chain Grip
Taylor Swift’s “The Fate of Ophelia” Extends U.K. No. 1 Run to Five Weeks
UK VPN Sign-Ups Surge by Over 1,400 % as Age-Verification Law Takes Effect
Former MEP Nathan Gill Jailed for Over Ten Years After Taking Pro-Russia Bribes
Majority of UK Entrepreneurs Regard Government as ‘Anti-Business’, Survey Shows
UK’s Starmer and US President Trump Align as Geneva Talks Probe Ukraine Peace Plan
UK Prime Minister Signals Former Prince Andrew Should Testify to US Epstein Inquiry
Royal Navy Deploys HMS Severn to Shadow Russian Corvette and Tanker Off UK Coast
China’s Wedding Boom: Nightclubs, Mountains and a Demographic Reset
Fugees Founding Member Pras Michel Sentenced to 14 Years in High-Profile US Foreign Influence Case
WhatsApp’s Unexpected Rise Reshapes American Messaging Habits
United States: Judge Dressed Up as Elvis During Hearings – and Was Forced to Resign
Johnson Blasts ‘Incoherent’ Covid Inquiry Findings Amid Report’s Harsh Critique of His Government
Lord Rothermere Secures £500 Million Deal to Acquire Telegraph Titles
Maduro Tightens Security Measures as U.S. Strike Threat Intensifies
U.S. Envoys Deliver Ultimatum to Ukraine: Sign Peace Deal by Thursday or Risk Losing American Support
Zelenskyy Signals Progress Toward Ending the War: ‘One of the Hardest Moments in History’ (end of his business model?)
U.S. Issues Alert Declaring Venezuelan Airspace a Hazard Due to Escalating Security Conditions
The U.S. State Department Announces That Mass Migration Constitutes an Existential Threat to Western Civilization and Undermines the Stability of Key American Allies
Students Challenge AI-Driven Teaching at University of Staffordshire
Pikeville Medical Center Partners with UK’s Golisano Children’s Network to Expand Pediatric Care
Germany, France and UK Confirm Full Support for Ukraine in US-Backed Security Plan
UK Low-Traffic Neighbourhoods Face Rising Backlash as Pandemic Schemes Unravel
UK Records Coldest Night of Autumn as Sub-Zero Conditions Sweep the Country
UK at Risk of Losing International Doctors as Workforce Exodus Grows, Regulator Warns
ASU Launches ASU London, Extending Its Innovation Brand to the UK Education Market
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to Visit China in January as Diplomatic Reset Accelerates
Google Launches Voluntary Buyouts for UK Staff Amid AI-Driven Company Realignment
UK braces for freezing snap as snow and ice warnings escalate
Majority of UK Novelists Fear AI Could Displace Their Work, Cambridge Study Finds
UK's Carrier Strike Group Achieves Full Operational Capability During NATO Drill in Mediterranean
Trump and Mamdani to Meet at the White House: “The Communist Asked”
Nvidia Again Beats Forecasts, Shares Jump in After-Hours Trading
Wintry Conditions Persist Along UK Coasts After Up to Seven Centimetres of Snow
UK Inflation Eases to 3.6 % in October, Opening Door for Rate Cut
UK Accelerates Munitions Factory Build-Out to Reinforce Warfighting Readiness
UK Consumer Optimism Plunges Ahead of November Budget
A Decade of Innovation Stagnation at Apple: The Cook Era Critique
Caribbean Reparations Commission Seeks ‘Mutually Beneficial’ Justice from UK
EU Insists UK Must Contribute Financially for Access to Electricity Market and Broader Ties
UK to Outlaw Live-Event Ticket Resales Above Face Value
President Donald Trump Hosts Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at White House to Seal Major Defence and Investment Deals
German Entertainment Icons Alice and Ellen Kessler Die Together at Age 89
UK Unveils Sweeping Asylum Reforms with 20-Year Settlement Wait and Conditional Status
UK Orders Twitter Hacker to Repay £4.1 Million Following 2020 High-Profile Breach
Popeyes UK Eyes Century Mark as Fried-Chicken Chain Accelerates Roll-out
Two-thirds of UK nurses report working while unwell amid staffing crisis
Britain to Reform Human-Rights Laws in Sweeping Asylum Policy Overhaul
Nearly Half of Job Losses Under Labour Government Affect UK Youth
UK Chancellor Reeves Eyes High-Value Home Levy in Budget to Raise Tens of Billions
×