KINGSTON, Jamaica — Controversial police senior superintendent in charge of traffic, Radcliffe Lewis, has confirmed that he will be leaving the force on October 31, but insists that his last 21 days won’t be any easier for bad drivers.

Lewis told Thursday’s launch of the Public Passenger Vehicle Modernisation Council’s (PPVMC) mandatory Driver History Information (DHI) system, which will help the police detect bad drivers and fraud in the public transport system,that the DHI was something he had been hoping for over the past four years.

“Our roads will be safer with this system. The insurance companies wanted something like this long ago. Last year they paid out over $800 million, if this was in place, I am quite certain that maybe last year they wouldn’t pay one cent,” he said.

“What I am very happy about is that it is coming at a time when I will soon depart. I have 21 days left so, over that 21 days, I am going to make sure that I achieve all that I wanted to achieve for lawful road users,” he warned.

The DHI is being introduced by the PPVMC, an umbrella group which represents over 90 per cent of private investors in the public transportation system, in partnership with the Ministry of Transport, Works and Housing (MTWH), the police and the insurance companies, on October 28.

It will create a database of information on drivers in the sector, which will be available to its members in employing staff; the police in tracing unpaid traffic tickets and false documents; and provide insurance companies with information on the drivers and operators seeking insurance coverage.

Balford Henry