Hanover police clamp down on illegal taxi operators
Published:Thursday | February 9, 2023 | 12:09 AMHopeton Bucknor/ Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
DOZENS OF taxi operators who ply routes in Hanover suffered the full brunt of the law on Tuesday, as officers attached to the Lucea Traffic Department enforced the newly amended Road Traffic Act through its ticketing system.
The officers, who were engaged in a major traffic operation in the vicinity of the Hanover Parish Court in Lucea, explained that the new system now allows traffic officers to access data related to each motorists by simply inputting the individual’s taxpayer registration number into a portable (hand-held) machine, which then feeds the information to the traffic data bank.
“This new system is way advanced over a traffic ticket book because all we have to do is just run the TRN number of the motorist in the machine and immediately we are able to tell if he has outstanding traffic tickets, or is wanted for a traffic violation,” Constable Ryan Reid told The Gleaner.
“This will not only allow us to make on-the-spot arrests, but will also totally wipe out the practice of traffic violators constantly repeating a traffic offence, while piling up months and years of unpaid traffic tickets,” he added.
He said officers conducted the operation with the assistance of motor vehicle examiners in the parish, and that they had seized dozens of vehicles and issued over 50 traffic tickets.
“The new ticketing system and amended laws are assisting greatly in our fight against these unruly taxi operators, motorcycle riders and other motorists who fail to comply with the law,’ Reid noted.
He pointed out that both the Road Traffic Act and ticketing systems were exercised on Tuesday morning, resulting in the seizure of several ‘robot’ taxis, and motorists receiving tickets for not having insurance, drivers’ licences, proper registration and for not wearing the seatbelt.
Among those vehicles which seized for being used to operate robot taxis were the Voxy, Noah and Nissan AD Wagon make vehicles. Motorcycles were also seized and their owners prosecuted under the new amended act which includes penalties for not wearing a helmet and for not having the new rider’s licence.
The operation came a day after several disgruntled taxi operators across the island staged a demonstration, as they protested the amended Road Traffic Act.
The taxi men, many of whom had withdrawn their services, lashed out at the Government, especially over sections of the law that require that public passenger vehicles must have child seats, and that penalties for not wearing the seatbelt will further include the deduction of points from one’s driver’s licence, among others.