Splashing out cash - Drenching a pedestrian could cost you

Sheldon Williams, Gleaner Writer

With seasonal rains looming large and the 2012 hurricane season not ending until November 30, pedestrians' fear of being splashed is very real. However, drenching a pedestrian could end up in more than a sound cursing for a driver. It is a legal offence and the driver may be fined.

Section 32 of the Road Traffic
Act, which covers incidents considered careless driving, states "if any
person drives a motor vehicle on a road without due care and attention
or without reasonable consideration for other persons using the road, he
shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction thereof
to a penalty not exceeding five thousand
dollars".

Head of the Traffic Division in the Jamaica
Constabulary Force, Senior Superintendent Radcliffe Lewis, told
Automotives that, although the law does not seem to
be enforced rigorously, it is still actionable and enforceable. He
attributed the dearth of arrests and convictions to a lack of formal
complaints.

"Most times persons don't report it. All
they would need is a licence plate number and we would investigate ... .
The person (motorist) can be arrested for careless driving," Lewis
said. While no arrests have been made since the start of this year,
Lewis spoke about an incident that occurred about five years ago, which
ended in both the pedestrian and motorist being
charged.

"It was an instance where rain was falling
heavily and the driver of a car was driving very fast and splashed a
woman. The woman then took up a rock and threw it into the windscreen of
the car. She was charged with malicious destruction of property," Lewis
explained.

He said that, if a police officer
witnesses a splashing incident, the offender can be charged, even
without a formal report being made.

Benefits for
all

Lewis reasoned that avoiding splashing benefits
both motorists and pedestrians. "If it is raining, it is incumbent on
you to drive slowly and your common sense would tell you that. It is
better for you. It will prevent wear and tear," he
said.

When asked if motorists would be exempt from
being charged for splashing in emergency situations, Lewis argued that,
even in such cases, drivers would be held accountable. "The only excuse
is that he (a driver) would have to explain that he has an emergency or
he has somebody sick transporting to hospital, and that still wouldn't
exempt them," Lewis said. He added that "the police and emergency
vehicles would be in the same situation. The police have to drive in
adherence to the road code".

Lewis said, as far as he
can remember, no offender has ever provided a satisfactory response for
splashing a pedestrian which would have exempted them from paying the
stipulated
fine.