SENATOR Mark Golding, minister of justice, says he expects the Senate to debate the new Road Traffic Bill before month-end.

According to the senator, it should be on January 29’s agenda. He dismissed there were legal or other issues delaying the debate and indicated it’s merely a question of timing.

But to Jamaicans concerned about the 380 deaths from road crashes last year, and the 15 so far this year, the delay, since November’s passage of the Bill in the House of Representatives, is a mystery.

Opposition spokesman on Transport and Works Mike Henry says he is not surprised. Suggesting it is symptomatic of the government delaying issues of prime importance to the people.

“It is characteristic of the government’s stop and start system. The transportation sector is a priority for any government,” he said.

No doubt Senator Golding who, basically, operates as the de facto Leader of Government Business in the Senate, handling nearly all the Bills and addressing most of the issues raised by the Opposition, despite the presence of the Leader of Government Business, Senator AJ Nicholson, would object to Henry’s comments, considering his extremely busy schedule over the past four years.

But it is interesting that while Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Transport, Works and Housing, Dr Morais Guy might not share Henry’s views about political lethargy, he is similarly concerned about the delay.

In response to the Observer Auto’s query about the delay, Dr Guy said that he has had discussions with Senator Golding about the timing of the debate.

“I am hoping that it will be done shortly and can be assented before the close of the 2015/2016 financial year,” he told

Auto.

“In preparation for the enactment, however, the ministry has been preparing a publicity campaign, which is to be rolled out shortly to sensitise the public about the new law, as well as the provisions. This is to be done before the Act comes into force,” Dr Guy said.

Dr Guy did his best to have the process completed last year and pushed hard to have it passed in November in the House. This led to a loud, verbal exchange with Henry, who wanted time for perusal of the provisions, after numerous amendments were proposed by a joint select committee of Parliament, which reviewed the original Bill. Numerous changes led to the 2014 Bill being withdrawn and a new Bill being tabled sometime in September.

Throughout the process, the government has insisted that since the current Road Traffic Act was promulgated in 1938, “there has been phenomenal development in the design of motor vehicles and roads, thus rendering the various descriptions and requirements in the Act obsolete”.

The new Act primarily makes provisions for inter alia: The Island Traffic Authority (ITA) to be the licensing authority and to be able delegate its functions; the broadening of the role of the Road Traffic Appeal Tribunal; the reclassification of motor vehicles and other forms of vehicles; new classes of driver’s licences; and, the transportation of dangerous and hazardous substances.

So far this year, there have been 15 deaths from road crashes over the first 14 days, including 10 involving motorcycles.

The police have embraced a change in the Bill, which will require that instead of needing only a learner’s permit, persons seeking to drive a motorcycle will now have to go through a process similar to those applying for a licence to drive a motor car.

Incidentally, the public will now have to get used to people “driving” motorcycles, rather that riding them, as is promulgated in the new Act.

A National Vehicle Register will be kept by the ITA, which will include information on” motor vehicles imported into Jamaica, and motor vehicles registered in Jamaica.

As a prerequisite to the granting of a driver’s licence, the applicant has to obtain a certificate of competence from the ITA, certifying that he/she: had a learner’s licence for at least six months prior; is able to read and write and identify road signs and symbols associated with the Road Code; has paid the prescribed fee; is at least 17 1/2 years old; has a prescribed certificate from a Justice of the Peace, gazetted police officer, minister of religion, attorney-at-law, councilor or school principal in the area in which the applicant resides, certifying the identity and residential address of the applicant.

Applicants must also have had no conviction during the 12-month period preceding the application.

However, the applicant will be convicted of an offence on failing to: ensure that his/her breath alcohol concentration does not exceed 0.01 per cent while driving; does not drive in excess of 80 kilometres per hour on any road; and does not drive a motor vehicle carrying passengers or goods.

The National Road Safety Council (NRSC) has been banking on the implementation of the provisions to help reduce the high number of deaths on Jamaica’s roads, starting this year.