The recent Supreme Court ruling which granted an injunction blocking law enforcers from issuing traffic tickets in excess of fines up to 2006 rates highlights “another unacceptable lapse in completion of duty by the Government”, according to the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ).

The PSOJ, in a statement on Friday (November 5), called for the completion and approval of the regulations related to the Road Traffic Act to be done as an urgent priority.

“In August 2018, the new Road Traffic Act was approved by the Lower and Upper House and to date has not been enabled because of a failure to provide and approve the regulations to the Act which contains the new fines. This failure has resulted in and may facilitate inconsequential penalties for indiscipline on our roadways and further frustrate the efforts of the law enforcement to bring a sense of law and order to our roadways,” the PSOJ contended.

The PSOJ said that, in recognition of the connection between lawlessness and the breakdown in public order, it established a Monitoring Committee as a part of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed in 2020 between the organisation and the Ministry of National Security.

The Monitoring Committee provides oversight to ensure that the Government is focused on the timelines that it has set out for the completion of certain tasks to execute and improve the Traffic Ticket Management System, the JamaicaEye, regulations to the Noise Abatement Act and motorcycle driving simulators in Western Jamaica for the improvement of public order and road safety.

“Despite the PSOJ writing to the Ministry of Transport and Mining and formally requesting the inclusion of the enabling of the Road Traffic Act as a monitored process within the MOU, to date no response has been forthcoming,” the organisation remarked.

The PSOJ explained further that it made the request, cognisant that the various targets set by the Road Safety Council chaired by Prime Minister Andrew Holness have been frustrated by the failure to conclude the regulations and have them passed in the Houses of Parliament.

“The Government must send a strong signal to the people of Jamaica that it is serious about governance and establishing systems to protect the lives of every Jamaican. The completion of the regulations must be given very high priority,” the private-sector group added.

Parliament called an emergency meeting for 11:00 am on Friday, as lawmakers seek to avoid potential chaos on roads islandwide following the Supreme Court injunction.

Transport Minister Robert Montague is leading the House of Representatives in its attempts to bring the new Road Traffic Act into force.

The bill was, this afternoon, passed in the House of Representatives without amendments.