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Cops issue 20,000 electronic traffic tickets in six months

Shaw to retable regulations for Road Traffic Act next week

Published:Thursday | June 2, 2022 | 12:09 AMAinsworth Morris/Staff Reporter
Transport Minister Audley Shaw (left) takes note of a reading as Britton Hewitt (right), weight enforcement officer at the Island Traffic Authority, demonstrates the use of the exhaust emission analyser with the help of Nicholas Taylor (centre) during a co
Gladstone Taylor/Multimedia Photo Editor
Transport Minister Audley Shaw (left) takes note of a reading as Britton Hewitt (right), weight enforcement officer at the Island Traffic Authority, demonstrates the use of the exhaust emission analyser with the help of Nicholas Taylor (centre) during a commissioning ceremony in Harbour View, St Andrew, yesterday. There is one device each at nine of the 15 examination depots across the island.

More than 20,000 electronic traffic tickets have been issued by the police across the island since they were first equipped with e-ticketing devices six months ago.

The e-ticketing application, the pilot of which was launched last November, is expected to replace the existing manual traffic ticketing system used by the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF).

Acting Commissioner of Police Gary McKenzie, head of the JCF’s Public Safety and Traffic Enforcement Branch, gave the update during the commissioning of nine exhaust emission analysers by the Ministry of Transport at the Harbour View Examination Depot in St Andrew on Wednesday.

“We, as a police force, have been embracing [the] new devices in recent times, and the electronic ticketing device is one such device. In fact, we got 100 of them in December 2021, and to date, we have utilised them well,” McKenzie said, who noted that on average, the JCF issues 450,000 traffic tickets annually, which does not include arrests and the issuing of summons for breaches.

He, however, noted that the absence of the yet-to-be-passed regulations to give effect to the Road Traffic Act 2018 was still affecting operations.

“We have a glitch right now in terms of arresting some of the persons who have not yet paid for tickets. That is something that we hope will very soon be corrected by virtue of the commissioning of the new regulations [Road Traffic Act], which we are looking for,” he said.

Transport Minister Audley Shaw said the regulations, which have been tabled in Parliament, will come into effect very soon.

He noted that the Government would be making amendments before proceeding.

“What we going to do is withdraw that one and retable, and in fact, not only will we retable that one next week Tuesday, [but] Cabinet, on Monday, also approved the Transport Authority Act amendment, so I’m tabling the final regulations as well as the Transport Authority Act next week Tuesday,” Shaw said.

“We are equipping our regulatory bodies with the tools needed to carry out their functions effectively and honourably,” he added. “The Government continues to fight for road safety, and we need all hands on deck. Too many lives have been lost on our roadways, and the numbers keep growing every day.”

Up to yesterday morning, the island had seen 197 road fatalities since the start of the year.

“I make a special appeal to persons to pursue the correct avenue to attain a learner’s licence ... ,” Shaw appealed. “We’re going to clean up the business of obtaining a driver’s licence. We’re going to clean that one up. It’s been in the public purview that to get a driver’s licence, you pay $25,000 and you get your driver’s licence without being tested. That is unacceptable!”

He blamed the illegal practice for the high number of road accidents.

ainsworth.morris@gleanerjm.com