MORE than 410,000 traffic tickets were issued by the police across the island since the start of this year. This is 11 per cent more than the number of tickets issued in the corresponding period last year.

Minister with responsibility for transport Daryl Vaz presented the latest numbers as he addressed the House of Representatives on Tuesday where he provided an update on operations under the new Road Traffic Act (RTA), which came into effect on February 1, and the new Electronic Traffic Ticket System.

According to Vaz, the Electronic Traffic Ticket System will be boosted shortly as the Cabinet has given approval for the acquisition of 3,000 rugged hand-held ticketing devices with 3,000 rugged hand-held printers.

“The Electronic Traffic Ticket System has enabled law enforcement to be more efficient in prosecutions. During the period January 1 to October 6, 2023, the police issued 410,707 traffic tickets.

“Compliance as it relates to traffic ticket payments have also moved from 30 per cent to just over 52 per cent. The new RTA, along with other legislative amendments made, have seen more traffic-related warrants being generated from the courts. This has also resulted in improved traffic warrants execution by the police,” said Vaz.

“During the period January to October 6, 2,694 [traffic warrants] were executed in comparison to 1,706 executed for the same period last year. This is an increase of approximately 1,000 tickets,” added Vaz.

He told the House that the courts have been adjudicating outstanding traffic ticket matters coming from January 2018 as well as treating with the large volume of new matters.

“This effort is commendable; however, some persons especially PPV [public passenger vehicle] operators still have outstanding tickets. Madam Speaker, based on my observations yesterday [Monday] and my concern regarding the almost 200,000 tickets that remain outstanding awaiting completion of the judicial process, I have requested a meeting with the Ministry of Justice and the police to see how the process can be fast-tracked to put this untenable matter behind us,” said Vaz.

“This will not only improve efficiency in enforcement but will also stamp out systematic corruption,” Vaz argued.

On Monday Vaz toured some of the major taxi stands in the Corporate Area as the traffic police launched what it has dubbed ‘Operation Streamline’ which is a joint initiative of the Transport Authority, Island Traffic Authority and the Jamaica Constabulary Force to rid the streets of rogue taxi drivers and ensure the safety of the public

Before the end of the day head of the Public Safety and Traffic Enforcement Branch, Assistant Commissioner of Police Gary McKenzie, reported that 190 traffic tickets had been issued, 10 vehicles seized and seven people arrested through the execution of warrants.