Drivers urged to desist from flashing lights to warn about police traffic operation

Drivers are being warned by the Commissioner of Police Major General Antony to desist from flashing their headlights to alert other motorists about police operations.

Speaking at today's monthly press conference of the Jamaica Constabulary Force, Anderson said the practice runs counter to law enforcement.

He lamented that the action allows lawbreakers, especially those who breach the Road Traffic Act, to escape accountability.

“We see the carnage that takes place from improper road use and this idea that you 'beat the police' because oncoming traffic is flashing them to tell them to slow down because there are police around the corner who might catch you in a speed trap. This is where the public can help us, if you do not warn those people then they would have committed an offence, but when you warn them they go pass and then they speed up again, and this is a great risk to the people they are carrying,” Anderson charged.

The police commissioner disclosed that a total of 1,672,052 traffic tickets were issued between 2018 and 2022, with under 40% of the tickets being paid annually.

He bemoaned that too many persons continue to violate the law.

Anderson noted that discussions are being held with the police's Public Safety and Traffic Enforcement Branch to get more highway patrol cops along hot spots to address the problem of road traffic crashes and fatalities.

- Christopher Thomas 

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