Vehicle Weight Enforcement Programme to be Launched Next Week

The Island Traffic Authority (ITA) will be launching its Vehicle Weight Enforcement Programme next week.
“This is something that should have long come on stream… but it is here now and we need to make it work well for the Jamaican people,” said Transport Minister, Hon. Mike Henry.
He was speaking yesterday (Dec.10) at the opening of the ITA’s seminar for senior inspectors of motor vehicles at the Sunset Jamaica Grande Resort in Ocho Rios St. Ann.
He said that the programme, which involves the implementation of fixed scales at selected locations across the island, seeks to address the damage to the road surface caused by the overloading of vehicles, mostly trucks, and is also aimed at improving safety along the roadways.
It is being funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).
The four-day ITA seminar, which is being held under the theme: ‘New Paradigm in Vehicle Enforcement and Customer Service”, seeks to examine measures to improve service delivery and enhance the capabilities of the agency.
Minister Henry commended the Authority on initiatives being undertaken, including measures to address the social impact of road traffic injuries, the negative impact of overweight vehicles on the roadway, the effects of tampering with vehicle identification, vehicle cloning, vehicle identity fraud, the many challenges to adequately testing commercial and public passenger vehicles, and ongoing revision of the Road Traffic Act.
He also applauded the ITA for undertaking the training of key staff and supporting personnel from agencies such as the police force “to enable the process of certifying members of the deaf community to drive on Jamaican roads and I find that to be a really refreshing experience.”