Motorists with outstanding traffic tickets could face restrictions on renewing their driving and vehicle licences under measures outlined by Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall, SC.
Speaking on his weekly programme, Issues in the News, Nandlall said the proposed enforcement measures would also affect the renewal of certificates of fitness, as authorities seek to address more than 39,000 unpaid tickets.
Citing figures provided by the Traffic Chief, he said the Guyana Police Force had issued 88,332 tickets, of which 49,326 had been paid. That leaves 39,006 outstanding, or approximately 44 per cent of the total.
“Any vehicle that has outstanding tickets, that vehicle’s road licence or revenue licence, and the certificate of fitness will not be renewed,” Nandlall said.
He added that a person named on an unpaid ticket would also face restrictions on renewing their driver’s licence.
“So, unpaid tickets will not go without consequences,” he warned.
Nandlall did not announce when the measures would take effect or explain the procedures for implementing them, including how cases involving different vehicle owners and drivers would be handled.
His comments came as he renewed calls for police to issue tickets for offences covered by the ticketing system instead of unnecessarily detaining motorists or their vehicles.
However, he said motorists must fulfil their corresponding responsibility to pay tickets.
“Now, you cannot want the police not to detain you, but instead issue to you tickets for ticketable offences, and when the tickets are issued, you do not pay them. That is a serious state of affairs. The laws of this country must be obeyed,” he said.
The Attorney General also disclosed that he had discussed expanding the categories of offences covered by traffic tickets with the Traffic Chief.
He said the intention was to reduce occasions on which motorists and vehicles could be unlawfully detained. He did not identify the additional offences being considered.
