By Warren Bertram
The government has rejected a suggestion from the parliamentary opposition for it to extend the deadline of the reprieve period for people with outstanding traffic tickets.
Speaking in the House of Representatives on Thursday, Opposition Leader Mark Golding proposed that the government extend the reprieve from January 31 to April 30.
He was contributing to the debate on the Road Traffic Reprieve and Nullification of Prescribed Notices Act 2023.
Mr. Golding's suggestion came against the background of the large number of people turning up at traffic court in an attempt to pay outstanding tickets before the January 31 deadline.
He said an extension of the reprieve to April 30 would allow people to deal with their unpaid tickets in an orderly way "without causing chaos within the traffic court system".
According to Mr. Golding, this would not in any way impact the effective date of the new Road Traffic Act on February 1.
But the government maintained its position, with National Security Minister Dr. Horace Chang insisting that people with outstanding traffic tickets should not be allowed to hold the system at ransom.
"The government is not moving on this. We are beginning on the 1st of February, effective then. The teams are on standby from Ministry of National Security, Ministry of Transport, the court system," he said.
"We cannot allow a few miscreants to delay and further concede anything. What we are looking at is a fundamental system in executing good public order and the few who are complaining are not deserving of any further concession," Dr. Chang insisted.
The bill was subsequently passed with three amendments.
The traffic ticket reprieve will end just before the implementation of the new Road Traffic Act and regulations on February 1.
