Information Minister Robert Morgan
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Robert Morgan
By Kimone Witter
The government has reiterated that during this period of reprieve for motorists to pay outstanding traffic tickets, the island's courts have the discretion to sanction people who have contravened the Road Traffic Act.
In an interview with Radio Jamaica News on Thursday morning, Information Minister Robert Morgan also restated that it was important not to handcuff the courts and prevent them from applying the law where necessary.
Mr. Morgan was responding to members of One Voice Taxi Grouping who expressed fears about losing their road licences when attempting to pay outstanding traffic tickets.
The taxi operators say several of their colleagues who have turned up to court to clear outstanding tickets have had their licences revoked, putting their livelihoods in jeopardy.
But Mr. Morgan said, while the government has made legislative adjustments to the demerit points system, it cannot interfere with the courts.
He reiterated that the reprieve is "no amnesty", explaining that "all the government has said is that the demerit points that would have been applied are no longer applied".
The government announced earlier this week that it will render all demerit points and traffic tickets accrued up to February 1, 2018, null and void.
Provided that the tickets accrued after February 1, 2018 are paid before February 1, 2023, demerit points arising from those tickets will also be expunged upon the implementation of the new Road Traffic Act and its accompanying regulations.
Mr. Morgan explained that motorists with tickets from February 2018 to present must attend court "and the judge in their right, based on the laws of the land, will determine what happens then". He insisted "the government cannot interfere in that process".
The minister said those taxi operators who have said they may leave the transportation sector out of fear of their licences being revoked, are being unreasonable.
One taxi operator, who spoke with Radio Jamaica News, has called for the government to make provisions for the protection of the road licences of operators of public passenger vehicles.
But Mr. Morgan argued that persons who have flouted the laws of the country and accumulated hundreds of tickets "cannot reasonably expect to continue flouting the laws of the country and the government then is expected to justify that flouting".
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