Prime Minister Andrew Holness says the new Road Traffic Act and Regulations are not aimed at punishing people or collecting revenue but, instead, restoring the rule of law.

Holness, who was speaking at a ceremony held at New Forest High School in Manchester on Tuesday (February 7), where 20 residents of the community received titles to property that they occupy, said that “there are still many Jamaicans, and I dare say, the silent majority, who appreciate and understand what this Administration is trying to do in breaking the culture of informality and re-establishing the rule of law and public order”.

The prime minister said the Government understands that “we can’t make change overnight as where we are now took decades of breakdown in standards, rules and expectations”.

He further said that the Administration is dedicated to the process and, where there are mistakes, they must be immediately acknowledged and corrected, and a commitment made to set higher standards.

Holness noted that the provision in the Road Traffic Act regarding the use of seatbelts and child restraints in public passenger vehicles dates from as far back as 1999 and has been debated by different administrations through 2015 to its present iteration.

He said that while there is the matter of affordability of car seats, there has been agreement that, “as a people we must aspire towards the safety of our children”.

Minister of Transport and Mining Audley Shaw said in Parliament on Tuesday that the requirement in the Act regarding the use of child restraint systems is being amended.

He informed that a regulation is to be inserted making reference to the type of child restraint required for the conveyance of children based on age and size, in different types of vehicles.

–JIS