Vehicles Should Only Have Licence Plates Issued Locally

Director of the Island Traffic Authority (ITA), Kenute Hare, is urging motorists to desist from affixing licence plates to their vehicles that are not issued in Jamaica.

Speaking in an interview with JIS News, Mr. Hare warned that the practice will not be tolerated.

“We have noticed the trend where there are different types of licence plates on motor vehicles. Only the Jamaican-issued driver’s licence plates are to be on the motor vehicles, so please, those of you who have put other plates on your motor vehicles please remove them,” he said.

The ITA Director said that there were some other emerging trends that are in contravention of the Road Traffic Act and that the authority will be putting a stop to them.

“I’d like to appeal to persons, especially persons who are driving at night, to take off the multicoloured lights. You don’t want us to take them off during the road spot check operations, because it will mean that you could be issued an E1 Certificate, which is a certificate of defect, and you’ll have to take funds out of your pocket to get back your plates,” Mr. Hare cautioned.

Another issue of concern to the ITA is the tinting of windscreens, which Mr. Hare pointed out is not permitted.

“Our machinery at the ITA in collaboration with the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) machinery will ensure that this activity desists, because it affects visibility and it is a potential risk factor for traffic crashes,” he said.

Mr. Hare said that the ITA, which he described as an entity for road safety good, is “working assiduously to improve all of our processes”.