Dear Editor,

A few taxi associations on the island stopped their “bread” in January to prevent the Government from collecting revenue that it was owed from unpaid traffic tickets. The taxi operators withdrew their services and demanded that the Government delay the implementation of the new Road Traffic Act (RTA) and give them more time to clear their arrears.

The new RTA came into effect on February 1, with new offences and exorbitant fines. Fast-forward three months later and a magnifying glass is needed to assess the success of the RTA. Public passenger operators who have racked up hundreds of unpaid tickets continue to show that they don’t care about the law or the lives of others. It is terrible just being on the roads mornings and evenings and witnessing the stunts in which public passenger operators engage. Their behaviour is untenable and the RTA has not featured in any change in how they operate.

These were the same operators who were petitioning the Government to have mercy on them and give them time to clear off their mountain of outstanding tickets. However, as far as the RTA is concerned, only the Act is new, the taxi operators are the same. Ordinary motorists are suffering at the hands of unruly taxi drivers who retrofit their vehicles with frightening truck horns and bully their way in and out of traffic.

Can motorists begin to take videos and report these operators as they break the law, or do they have to wait until there are head-on collisions, broken light poles, or damaged fences and gates before any actions can be taken?

What is the purpose of the cameras at the traffic lights? Are they there for aesthetics? Can the offences they capture be used for prosecution? The Government needs to meet with the various associations representing the public operators to outline to them the rules of the road.

Transport Minister, something must be done about these operators and the mayhem they are causing on the roads.

Hezekan Bolton

h_e_z_e@hotmail.com