Police pause ticketing for daytime running lights

The police have been instructed to pause the ticketing of motorists for daytime running lights (DRLs) that are pre-installed on their vehicles.

DRLs are typically installed near the headlight of a vehicle and automatically turn on when the engine is running. Among their primary purposes, experts say, is increasing the vehicle's visibility to other road users during daylight hours.

But since the enactment of Jamaica’s upgraded Road Traffic Act, there have been wide scale reports of motorists being ticketed for pre-installed DRLs.

Commissioner of Police Dr Kevin Blake disclosed on Wednesday that the Police High Command gave instructions for police personnel to pause the ticketing of DRLs, citing what he described as “a little grey area” in the law.

“If you look at the strict literature of the law, it allows certain things to happen, except for the fact that these are lights that came with the vehicle and not necessarily placed on the vehicle. So there is a little grey area there,” he said during a post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House.

The commissioner said the issue is something that the police need to look at within the context of the legislation.

“But for the time being, we have instructed our members not to continue that practice. It is unfair to the motorists," he said.

- Livern Barrett

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