Traffic Regulations to Hold Road Users More Accountable
By: , July 28, 2022
Photo: Yhomo Hutchinson
Minister of Transport and Mining, Hon. Audley Shaw (left), is greeted by Operations Manager (Acting), Transport Authority, Nicola Brown, at a Public Transport Defensive Driving Seminar, held on July 27 at the Golf View Hotel in Manchester. At centre is Managing Director of Grennell’s Driving School, Alphonso Grennell. The Seminar was hosted by Grennell’s Driving School, the Insurance Association of Jamaica, Transport Authority, and other key stakeholders.
Photo: Yhomo Hutchinson
Minister of Transport and Mining, Hon. Audley Shaw (second left), converses with (from left) President, Transport Operators Development Sustainable Services (TODSS), Egerton Newman; Managing Director of Grennell’s Driving School, Alphonso Grennell; and Opposition Spokesman, Housing, Transport and Works, Mikael Phillips. Occasion was a Public Transport Defensive Driving Seminar, held on July 27 at the Golf View Hotel in Manchester.The Full Story
It is expected that the recently tabled Regulations for the Road Traffic Act, 2018 and the Transport Authority Act will assist in reducing the spate of road accidents.
“These regulations will see a completely revised mode of conduct on Jamaican roads and will hold road users more accountable for their actions. This goes in tandem with the Transport Authority Regulations, tabled in Parliament recently. We have to get back the discipline in the traffic environment and save lives,” Minister of Transport and Mining, Hon. Audley Shaw, emphasised.
Addressing a Public Transport Defensive Driving Seminar on July 27 at the Golf View Hotel in Manchester, Mr. Shaw said that once the regulations have passed the scrutiny of the Parliament and are accepted for implementation, the Ministry is tasked with bringing the Road Traffic Act 2018 into force, which will repeal the Road Traffic Act, 1938.
The Minister argued that the improved ticketing system will ensure that delinquent drivers will be punished.
“The old Act allowed them to just get the ticket and nothing happens. That is not going to continue. You get tickets, you are going to pay for them, but after a while you get too many tickets, your driver’s licence is going to be taken away from you, because it means that you are a threat to the safety of persons on our roads,” he added.
Remote detection of traffic offences using cameras and other electronic devices will now be allowed under the new Road Traffic Regulations, which were approved in the House of Representatives on July 5.
The legislation will also provide for the issuing of tickets for traffic offences via electronic means. Where traffic offences are detected remotely, the owner of the vehicle will receive the ticket.
“Jamaica is on the cusp of ensuring that this technology is used to monitor our roads. We look forward to speedy implementation and amendments to improve the Act, in the interest of safety on our roads and the safety of our people,” the Minister said.
The seminar was hosted by Grennell’s Driving School, the Insurance Association of Jamaica, Transport Authority, and other key stakeholders.