No relaxing PPV tint guidelines

Drivers still being prosecuted for breaches, says Allen

MORE THAN a year after the Government issued several policy guidelines governing tint on public passenger vehicles (PPV), the police are insisting that the rules have not been relaxed as they continue to prosecute PPV operators who are found to be in breach.

Following the initial announcement by Prime Minister Andrew Holness on February 8 last year, Senior Superintendent Calvin Allen, head of the Police Traffic Division, outlined the regulations.

Allen explained that PPV operators who were found to be in breach of the guidelines were liable for prosecution (issuance of a ticket for $2,500). However, if they readily complied, they would be allowed to remove the tint on the spot, and receive assistance in doing so.

He added that if the operator was not compliant, not only would the tint be removed, but also the registration plates of the vehicle.

JUTA BUSES

Updating The Gleaner on Monday, Allen stated: “You’ll see a red-plate vehicle out there with tint on it, but some of those vehicles are JUTA (Jamaica Union of Travellers Association) vehicles and JUTA has some exemptions. However, the whole aspect of prosecution re tinting has not been relaxed.

“As it relates to the normal PPVs, we continue to work in that regard. Up to as recent as a week or so ago, we had a team on the Mandela Highway and tints were removed.

“There are other instances where many undisciplined persons will, after prosecution, go back and retint their vehicles. So, it’s an ongoing process that we have to treat with, but several prosecutions have been done last year and since the start of this year. We have not relaxed at all,” he stated.

“The type of tint that is on a PPV, especially a taxi, is crucial as it relates to the safety of the travelling public, so it is an area that we will not relax on,” Allen noted.