KINGSTON, Jamaica — Minister of Transport and Mining, Lester Mike Henry, says the methodology of competence before road licences are granted needs to be reviewed, following the discovery that the drivers in last Friday’s fatal two-vehicle crash on Old Harbour Road in St Catherine have a combined total of 62 outstanding traffic tickets.

One driver, whose road licence is just one year old, accounts for 12 of the outstanding tickets, while the other driver accounts for the remaining 50 over a six-year period, the minister disclosed in a release today.

A report from the Road Safety Unit, according to Henry, also confirms that the motorcars were not licenced to operate as public passenger vehicles and speeding and overtaking were the major factors, which contributed to the crash.

“This is a clear indication that the drivers of the motor vehicles have no regard for the laws governing the usage of roads of the country,” the minister said.

He also called on taxi associations to “begin to act, even in their own interest, to be the watchdog of the industry and report the illegal operators which are well known to them and continue to undermine the economics and good order of the industry”.

Four people were killed in the crash while the two drivers and three passengers were seriously injured. A police officer and a Jamaica Defence Force lance corporal were also among the injured.

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The transport minister expressed that the incident could have easily been avoided if the requisite road safety etiquette was executed, noting that even though both motor vehicles were equipped with seatbelts, it is clear that they were not leveraged, as one female passenger was thrown out of the Toyota Probox.

He said, “it is unfortunate that the passengers in the two illegally operated motor vehicles placed themselves in danger, as the commuting public have, on countless occasions, been warned to desist from taking these illegal modes of transport”.

Since the start of 2018, 13 people have died in road crashes.