$500k fine approved for motorists who hurl expletives at TA inspectors Loop Jamaica

Black Immigrant Daily News

A potential $500,000 fine hangs over the head of Jamaican motorists who hurl expletives (bad words) at an inspector of the Transport Authority who is carrying out his/her lawful duty.

In lieu of the fine, the offending party faces up to six months in prison.

This is outlined in the Transport Authority (Amendment) Act, 2022, which was debated and approved in the House of Representatives on Tuesday.

According to the bill, which was piloted by Transport Minister Audley Shaw, the “use of abusive or calumnious language to an inspector in the carrying out of the inspector’s duties” would attract a fine or imprisonment.

Calumnious means a false, defamatory or slanderous statement.

Amendments to the Transport Authority Act and other legislation had become necessary for the Road Traffic Act, 2018, which was passed four years ago, to take effect. This is yet to take place.

Before approving the bill on Tuesday, Opposition Member of Parliament for Manchester North Western, Mikael Phillips, sought to get his colleagues to agree to a lower fine during discussions at the committee stage.

Phillips proposed a fine of $300,000 but this was brushed aside by Justice Minister Delroy Chuck.

Chuck argued that the lower fine would not serve as a sufficient deterrent to those who would want to abuse the inspectors. He also suggested that judges would be minded to use their discretion in applying the fine.

Said Chuck: “In the average where the abuser, the calumnious language is not too loud, I am sure the judge may charge $10,000 or $50,000. The truth of the matter is the $500,000 is not only the maximum but an indication that there is a differing gravity in terms of the abuse and the assault.”

While he did not get his fellow lawmakers to agree to the lower fine, Phillips pointed out that the bill listed a fine of $150,000 for breaches such as forgery of documents, much lower than for the half-a-million fine for using what is considered calumnious language.

Of note is that inspectors of the Transport Authority and operators of public passenger vehicles, in particular, have in the past often engaged in verbal confrontations.

There have been several instances of inspectors chasing transport operators in a bid to seize their vehicles for various road traffic breaches; some of these chases have ended in a crash.

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