Road Traffic Act enforcement not about revenue – Holness
MANCHESTER, Jamaica – Prime Minister Andrew Holness has reiterated that the new Road Traffic Act is not meant to punish citizens or simply collect revenue.
Holness, who was addressing the National Land Agency’s Systematic Land Registration Land Titling ceremony at the New Forest High School, stated that even though the Government will make changes to the child restraint requirement in the new Road Traffic Act, it aspires to enforce safety measures for children in public transportation.
“We understand, it is not practical, but it remains our aspiration. I encourage all parents, I encourage all public passenger transport users [to] look about the safety of yourself and your children when you use public passenger transport. Don’t be ashamed to put on the seatbelt in the back of the car and if your child is lucky enough to get a seat in the car and they get the middle seat, put on the lap belt on them,” he said on Tuesday in south Manchester.
The Prime Minister also encouraged road users to adapt to road safety measures.
“We are not less than anyone else who [are] always putting on their seatbelt,” he said.
Holness added that Jamaica is entering a new dispensation of the enforcement of its laws.
“In the previous dispensation, you would never have this kerfuffle about the seatbelt for children, because nobody believed it would be enforced. Now, everybody understands that the Government is serious about enforcement,” he said.
Said Holness: “The enforcement is about public order and public safety. Meaning your safety, that is what it is about, so I urge Jamaicans, don’t get caught up in some of the nonsense that is being said. Your country is changing right before your very eyes, but when you are in the midst of change, it can appear confusing, chaotic and oftentimes imperceptible. But when the history is written and you look back at this era and you asked yourself when did things change for traffic management and public order in Jamaica, the historians will have to point to this period in Jamaica’s history”.
His comments follow the widespread public debate and the second consecutive day of some taxi operators striking in sections of the country.
