FAKE driver's licences, fraudulent insurance cover notes and the presence of corrupt public officials are making a mockery of mechanisms implemented by the Government to ensure that Jamaican road users are safe and that injured parties can claim for compensation in the event of accidents.

The police are describing the situation as chronic and are indicating that while most of the offences are being carried out by taxi and bus operators, other Jamaicans -- rich and poor -- are involved in the 'bandoolo' culture which forces them to flee accident scenes as they know they have no protection.

In addition, the police indicate that while most of the offenders are picked up in Kingston, St Andrew and St James, people in all parishes are being caught with fraudulent documents.

Gary, a 48-year-old taxi operator who plies the Spanish Town to Linstead route, told the Sunday Observer that he saw nothing wrong with the illicit activities and went further to explain that he wasn't taking his vehicle to the Government's examination depot, out of fear that his vehicle would not be certified as being roadworthy, and also because of his concern that the motor vehicle examiner will "mash up mi vehicle".

His reference was to the usual practice by the examiners to drive the vehicles at very high speeds while testing them for road worthiness.

Another robot taxi driver from Spanish Town, who declined to give even his first name, told the Sunday Observer that there are two types of illegally obtained certificates of fitness. In the first instance, the man, who appeared to be in his mid-30s, explained that $3,000 could land an individual a certificate of fitness.

However, that document would be blatantly fraudulent as there would be no record of it in the Government's system. When pressed, he explained that such a document could be produced outside of the examination depot or issued by someone at the depot who doesn't have the authority to do more than write the information on the certificate.

"When the police ketch you wid dat one yu inna trouble," he explained as he highlighted his preference for the slightly more expensive certificate issued through the Government's examination depot, but by corrupt motor vehicle examiners and their agents who certify vehicles as being fit, without even seeing such vehicles. That certificate, the taxi operator told the Sunday Observer, could cost anywhere between $4,000 and $6,000.

Obtaining a motor vehicle certificate of fitness legally costs $2,500.

The same driver explained that he pays $4,000 each month to obtain a fraudulent insurance cover note. According to him, the cost of insuring his vehicle through the legitimate means is much too high, therefore he resorts to a solution in which he pays $5,000 each month to another individual who has the link to the individual in Spanish Town who issues the fraudulent cover notes.

Checks by the Sunday Observer revealed that it would cost that driver between $258,000 and $300,000 to obtain comprehensive insurance for his 2001 Toyota Probox through one of the country's main insurers of taxis and minibuses.

Head of the Police Traffic Division, Superintendent Radcliffe Lewis, says he is aware of the many scams in which motorists are involved, and in relation to the fraudulent insurance cover notes confirmed that some motorists purchase the illegal documents because the cost is much lower than what obtains at legitimate insurance companies. He also said that some persons acting as brokers for legitimate insurance companies are spearheading the racket.

Lewis, who produced a copy of one of the fraudulent cover notes which was taken from a motorist, said, "You would be surprised if you know some of the people who have these things".

While referring to the situation with the fraudulent cover notes as bad, Lewis described as frightening the number of persons driving around with fake driver's licences, and he sought to distance the Island Traffic Authority from the scam.

"I am not saying that the Island Traffic Authority is free from blame, but what I can tell you is that most of these driver's licences are not issued by them. These bogus licences are computer-generated, the examination depots have nothing do with them. Any licence issued by the Island Traffic Authority would appear to be genuine and would also be found in our database," he said.

"If you can read, it is between $20,000 and $50,000 for the licence; if you can't read none at all the maximum is $120,000," said Lewis, who revealed that he got the information from persons apprehended after they displayed fraudulent licences to police personnel during spot checks. He added that just recently a bus driver from Tavares Gardens was convicted in the Half-Way-Tree Resident Magistrate's Court and fined in excess of $100,000 after he produced a fake driver's licence.

During the interview, which took place in Lewis' office at the Motorised Patrol Division, Lewis along with other members of his team displayed close to 60 fraudulent driver's licences which were taken from motorists.

The senior cop said that the police were on the trail of at least one of the persons involved in the production of the fake licences, some of which have legitimate information but for minor adjustments such as the removal of the clause which bars the individual from operating a public passenger vehicle.

"If they want to drive a taxi and they don't have the proper driver's licence, they go to their person and get them to put in the information which says they are licenced to drive public passenger vehicles," said Lewis, who admitted to some difficulty in using the naked eyes to determine the authenticity of some of the fraudulent licences.

The high level of corruption in the enforcement of traffic regulations is nothing new and has been the subject of pronouncements from representatives of both Jamaica Labour Party and People's National Party administrations.

In July 2000, then minister of transport Dr Peter Phillips placed drivers on alert as he introduced a bill to reform the Island Traffic Authority. At that time, Phillips declared that the bill would contain provisions to license driving schools, re-test drivers and require refresher courses after a number of years of driving.

He said that the bill would also deal with the issuing of licences by the Authority, as there was too much evidence of persons being certified as competent to drive without being subjected to the appropriate tests as well as being illiterate.

At another function, Phillips declared that "Too many people are driving fraudulently. They cannot drive and have got licences by 'bandoolo' means. We are determined to remove them from the road and ensure that no one else gets on the roads by these means."

Addressing a sitting of the Parliament's Public Accounts Committee in February last year, then permanent secretary in the Ministry of Transport Dr Alwyn Hayles blamed the Government's inability to clean up the system on a scarcity of funds.

"I must point out that the Island Traffic Authority does not really have the kinds of systems that are required. We have not had the kind of support required from the Finance Ministry because of the concern that in the modernisation process, some of the revenue that now flow into the consolidated fund, through the activities of the Island Traffic Authority, will then have to be used to finance the activities of the modernised entity," Hayles explained.

  0 comments

  0 comments

  0 comments

  0 comments

  0 comments

  3 comments

  7 comments

  7 comments

  5 comments

  12 comments

  0 comments

  2 comments

  0 comments

  0 comments

  28 comments

  0 comments

  0 comments

  2 comments

  0 comments

  0 comments