Attorney General: Wider list of ticketable offences coming with stiffer penalties

Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall

The government will introduce tougher penalties for driving ticket offences, Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall said on Tuesday on his weekly programme Issues In the News.

Nandlall said several reforms are planned for road traffic laws and regulations, adding that the list of ticketable offences will be expanded.

“We’ll add more offences to ticketed offences. So you’ll get tickets now– e-tickets for a larger number of offences, and of course harsher penalties will be imposed for speeding, among other legislative reforms,” he said.

He added that the government will continue implementing reforms that serve the public interest, pointing to the recent rollout of the e-ticketing system targeting speeding and failure to wear seatbelts.

“The government has already signalled that reforms are going to be made in relation to road traffic laws and regulations, because the spate of accidents on our roads, the spate of fatal accidents on our roads, the great misuse and negligent use of our public roadways continue to be matters that greatly concern our government and these are matters that we will continuously monitor very closely and make reforms,” he said.

Nandlall cited the early success of the e-ticketing system, saying he expects the data to show a reduction in traffic accidents once analysed.

“We will review legislations and necessary statutory provisions relating to motor vehicle licences– driver licences for motor vehicles, in particular, for different classes of vehicles like lorries, etcetera,” he added.