Nobody shall cross it - Hefty penalty proposed for funeral procession interference

Chad Bryan, Gleaner Writer

Fines are being considered under the new Road Traffic Bill for persons interfering with someone else's vehicle and motorists crossing a funeral procession.

The offences are defined in Part 13, Section 127 (1) of the bill. Subsection A states that an offence is committed when a person, without permission of the owner or the person in charge of the vehicle, climbs upon, into or swings upon any motor vehicle while it is in motion or stationary.

Infractions included in this subsection are persons sounding a vehicle's horn or another signal device or attempting to manipulate any of the vehicle's levers, its starter, brakes or machinery. The clause also proposes that an offence is committed when the person in any manner damages, interferes or tampers with a vehicle or puts into motion the engine while the vehicle is left standing.

FINE OR JAIL TIME

The penalty for climbing or swinging upon any motor vehicle without the permission of the owner is a fine of $10,000 or a jail term of 15 days if the money is not paid.

Under Subsection 'B', a person commits an offence if they throw an object at a vehicle or a person in or on the vehicle, or place an object in the road to damage the motor vehicle or cause injury to any person.

The penalty is $50,000 or 15 days' imprisonment.

Subsection 'I' speaks about interfering with a funeral procession. The penalty for persons who drive or attempt to drive across a funeral procession is $10,000, up from $2,000. Defaulting on the payment will result in 15 days' imprisonment.

Telbert Roberts, manager and director of Roberts Funeral Home in Linstead, St Catherine, explained that this provision in the new bill is necessary as motorists not associated with funeral processions often cause problems. They not only cross funeral processions, but also join them and create chaos.

"Jamaican motorists are totally indisciplined. In the United States, people have their stickers in the windscreen and nobody would cut in. People would pull over and allow the funeral procession to pass. But in Jamaica, people would cut in between the hearse and the police outrider," Roberts said.

"This happens in town and in the country. Some people cut into the procession to go faster with its flow," he continued, adding that those persons put on their hazard lights to appear a part of the procession.