KINGSTON, Jamaica – The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) is cautioning motorists against the illegal use of coloured lights on their motor vehicles this holiday season.

Speaking during a recent Jamaica Information Service (JIS) ‘Think Tank’, Head of the Public Safety and Traffic Enforcement Branch (PSTEB), Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Gary McKenzie, advised that the use of these lights, as detailed in the Road Traffic Regulations of 2022, is restricted to service vehicles.

“The use of blue lights [is] restricted to police vehicles; the use of red lights, flashing lights, that is, those are restricted to ambulances and the fire service. Large units, such as tow trucks and large truck-trailers, may use amber lights to announce their position and approach on the roadways. It is not for these lights to be used randomly,” ACP McKenzie noted.

Headlights on all vehicles must also be properly angled, as motorists who use very bright lights that are incorrectly positioned pose a threat to other road users.

“In other words, the left headlight is to be shining straight and the right headlight is to be [similarly] shining… and both lights are to be [angled] slightly downwards. If you shine lights directly at people and at other motorists, then you are blinding them and the potential for a crash exists,” he stressed.

ACP McKenzie further informed that no other light on a vehicle should outshine its headlights, adding that auxiliary lights or ‘reflectors’ should also be set at a lower ampere.

– JIS