PROVE ABUSE
Used-car dealers call for evidence of widespread misuse of demo plates amid planned recall
Published:Wednesday | April 16, 2025 | 12:10 AMLivern Barrett/Senior Staff Reporter
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The group that represents used-car dealers in Jamaica has said that it has no evidence of members misusing demonstration licence plates and has challenged the Government to provide proof of abuse. Demonstration plates are issued to new and used-car...
The group that represents used-car dealers in Jamaica has said that it has no evidence of members misusing demonstration licence plates and has challenged the Government to provide proof of abuse.
Demonstration plates are issued to new and used-car dealers to facilitate the movement of vehicles from the wharf, showcase vehicles to customers, and for promotional purposes such as automobile shows.
The stance by the Jamaica Used Car Dealers Association (JUCDA) comes as the Government gets ready to recall all demonstration or blue plates currently in circulation as part of a “total revamp” of the existing regime.
The overhauling of the regime for dealer plates is the Government’s response to what the transport ministry describes as “growing concerns” about the “widespread misuse” of these plates, which poses a “serious threat” to national security and public safety.
“I am working for the end of June/July,” Transport Minister Daryl Vaz told The Gleaner yesterday when asked if there was a timeline for the recall.
Vaz publicly acknowledged earlier this month that Tax Administration Jamaica does not have an “accurate count” of demonstration plates currently in circulation and that in many cases, they were not being used as intended under the Road Traffic Act.
He disclosed, too, that unlike other licence plates in circulation, the police are unable to trace demonstration plates through their ‘SmartCheck’ system.
“Disturbingly, there is credible evidence that demonstration plates are being exploited by individuals to facilitate criminal activities. The lack of control over this system poses a serious threat to public safety and national security,” the minister said during a post-Cabinet press briefing on April 9.
But JUCDA President Lynvale Hamilton said Vaz did not present evidence of the misuse and questioned whether it was speculation or anecdotal.
“When you speak of misuse, what are we talking about? Why is it that we have misuse and you don’t have people being charged and placed before the courts?” Hamilton asked in an interview with The Gleaner on Tuesday.
“How many dealers have been brought before the court and found guilty”? he questioned, while making it clear that he had no evidence of misuse.
Attempts by The Gleaner to get a comment from the Automobile Dealers Association, which represents new-car dealers, were unsuccessful.
Vaz explained, in response to Hamilton, that the misuse includes duplication; plates being used without proper – and sometimes without – insurance; or used plates being used “for purposes other than intended”.
‘INVALID’ PLATE
The Mercedes-Benz motor car – with a demonstration plate affixed – which crashed in St Mary on April 5, killing all four occupants, was coming from a party, the minister indicated during the April 9 post-Cabinet press briefing.
The plate was listed as “invalid” in TAJ’s database, sources disclosed.
“So what? I would say accidents happen,” Hamilton said of Vaz’s reference to the crash, noting that vehicles are sometimes purchased at entertainment events.
“The Government has created such a competitive environment in the motor vehicle industry that dealers have to take cars to where you have a high concentration of people such as a party. Sometimes that is where you will get a sale,” the JUCDA president said.
The existing regime for demonstration plates will be replaced by a web-based permit system that will allow car dealers to access them “as required”, Vaz said, providing some details about the proposed overhaul.
The new system, which is projected to cost approximately $10 million and will require legislative changes, is expected to be in place “within a few months”, the minister said.
Hamilton said the JUCDA welcomes any system that will improve the management of dealer plates but cautioned that it should not be to the detriment of car dealers.
“So the minister has something on his hands. If he [intends] to come with a system that will hamper our ability to maximise profits, I believe he should take that into consideration and wheel and come again,” he said.