Faces of frustration bobbed in a sea of bodies that flooded the periphery of the Kingston and St Andrew Traffic Court on Tuesday as motorists made a last-ditch grasp at the month-end lifeline.
There have been traffic jams at courthouses islandwide in the lead-up to the February 1 activation of the new Road Traffic Act – legislation passed more than four years ago but which has been parked because of regulatory and logistical delays.
The Government framed the 48-day window, announced last December, as a reprieve of sorts – amnestying motorists from all tickets prior to February 1, 2018, but mandating that they face a judge to pay fines or challenge the allegations of other outstanding penalty notices. Compliant motorists would also have all demerit points expunged by the January 31, 2023, deadline.
But while the Government’s insistence on judicial resolution of offences – instead of routine payments at tax offices – has been pitched as hard-nosed policy against rogue transport operators, others like Owenton Everard was caught among hundreds who turned out at the Port Maria traffic court eager to beat the deadline.
Everard, a resident of Dover, St Mary, was issued two traffic tickets in 2018 for the lighter offences of having no lights on his registration plate and having no mud guard affixed to his Suzuki jeep.
He claimed to have searched the Government’s online portal, https://trafficticketlookup.gov.jm/, and was reportedly surprised that he had not cleared the tickets.
Everard recalled being willing to pay the $2,500 fee for the absence of registration plate lights but had intended to challenge the mud guard violation in court because the vehicle was bought brand new without the part.
“The policeman later queried why the vehicle, which is a 2016 model, had no mud guard affixed and I pointed out to him that was how the vehicle was sold to me by the dealer. My jeep was bought brand new at that time,” the communication specialist told The Gleaner on Tuesday.
Everard said he was fortunate enough not to have been served warrants.
But in Kingston, there were chaotic scenes Tuesday as crowds amassed outside the courthouse.
One public transport operator said the crackdown dehumanised motorists.
“Certain ticket you pay and yuh licence suspended. Suppose mi borrow $60,000 from a man, how mi work fi pay back the man? A animal dem a turn the place inna slowly but surely,” the operator, who requested anonymity, said.
Another motorist said that he was willing to settle with receiving a stamped document proving he had attended court.
“We nuh have nuh talk, it look like. This can’t work. The system is poor. Mi nuh get nuh court date and mi a wait pon a call. This week makes three weeks and nobody don’t call me,” he told The Gleaner.
It is understood that the police will exercise discretion in the favour of alleged traffic offenders who have proof that they have a court date. The new traffic law imposes tougher financial penalties.
Calls for comment from Assistant Commissioner of Police Gary McKenzie, head of the Public Safety and Traffic Enforcement Branch, went unanswered on Tuesday.
The parliamentary Opposition appealed for tax office payments for those in arrears, delayed implementation of the penalties, or a parallel model, but those entreaties were dismissed by the Government.
Busmen and cabbies reported that they feared heavy-handed action by traffic police at the break of dawn on Wednesday.
The lines outside the Kingston and St Andrew Traffic Court obstructed vehicles, while the police resorted to displaying cartridge-paper signs urging the crowd to send an email to the Court Administration Division (CAD) in order to secure a hearing date.
Kadiesh Jarrett-Fletcher, director of client services, communication and information at the CAD, told The Gleaner that the process on the court compound was orderly.
She said final-day measures included additional payment windows, tents, and chairs for motorists and court staff.
“We have a number of persons but we have additional support from the police,” Jarrett-Fletcher said.