REGULATIONS for the new Road Traffic Act finally made their way to Parliament on Tuesday, after three years since the passage of the Bill, which had seen Government and Opposition at loggerheads up to November.

The Administration and the Opposition had locked horns over a two-clause amendment to the law, which indemnifies the Government against possibly paying out billions to motorists who were charged fines which were not in force at the time they were penalised.

The police have long clamoured for the passage of the regulations, which will allow them to apply the penalties laid out for various offences in the 2018 law.

Among the schedule of updated fines are up to $150,000 for defacing or mutilating certificates of fitness, licence certificates, licence decals or certificates of title or obliterating entry or making an entry or addition; reproducing or duplicating these documents. People could also be fined up to $250,000 for advertising for sale, selling, using or installing a device which gives inaccurate odometer readings, or altering their odometers.

Travelling in a vehicle with part of the body protruding, or allowing a passenger to do so will attract a $10,000-fine, according to the regulations. Also, driving a motor vehicle which causes a sound exceeding the noise limit could cost motorists $10,000.

Providing the services of a driving instructor without the relevant authority is an offence which attracts a penalty of up to $80,000. All the fines are on conviction and also carry an alternative term of imprisonment.

The new Road Traffic Act, which was five years in the making at the time, was approved by Parliament in December 2018, after a prolonged debate, during which some Opposition members raised several concerns. At the time, the regulations were expected to go to Parliament within four months, but that did not materialise.

Speaking in the debate on the Bill in the Senate in November 2018, Leader of Government Business in the Upper House Kamina Johnson Smith said the framework to be introduced under the provisions of the new Road Traffic Act will reduce the opportunity for human error and corruption to interrupt enforcement.

“The facilitation of disorder without accountability must change now, and the urgent need for new legislation and robust enforcement by technology, as well, cannot be overstated,” she said.

Along with new offences, the Bill has greater fines and stiffer penalties for motorists who are found in breach. Some of the fines with which drivers are more familiar have been the hardest-hit, such as driving without motor vehicle insurance coverage ($20,000); failure to wear protective helmet ($5,000); driving without a permit or driver’s licence ($40,000); not stopping at pedestrian crossings ($12,000); running traffic lights ($24,000); and ignoring traffic signs ($10,000).