Police reviewing proposal to increase fines to $25,000 on traffic tickets

A team headed by Assistant Commissioner Clifton Hicken reviewing the traffic posture along the East Bank Demerara Friday morning

A proposal was made for additional areas to be represented on the tickets issued by the Guyana Police Force Traffic department to motorists.

This was communicated to BIG Smith News Watch by Traffic Chief Ramesh Ashram during an interview on Friday along the East Bank Corridor where the traffic situation continues to be a disaster.

Ashram was asked about the measures being taken to address the issue of habitual offenders of traffic regulations and laws and it was then that he made the disclosure.

“We realise that some of the penalties are not a deterrent and sometime in last month I did, as it relates to traffic offenses too which were not on the ticket I recommended and I sent a list to my superior with some other offenses, I believe its twenty-four other offences to be added to the ticket book and the fines should be raised…I recommend fines up to $25,000 because presently the ticket offenses, the greater fine is $7500 so I recommended the fines should $20 and $25,000” Ashram told BIG Smith News Watch.

The crawling traffic along the East Bank Demerara corridor during rush hour

He was however unable to recall the majority of the new offenses which he recommended be added to the ticket book.

According to the Traffic Chief, police ranks were also instructed not to stop and search motor vehicles for documents during the rush hour periods as this contribute to the slowing up of the traffic flow.

He stressed that the presence of the ranks on the road during rush hour is to help direct the traffic in order to ensure a smooth flow so that motorists can get to their destinations.

On Friday a high-level team visited the East Bank corridor to review and put in place a system that would allow the free flow of traffic in and out of the city and with the view of ensuring that pedestrians are able to use the roadway safely also.

However several hours after that the visit, the traffic situation on the East Bank proved to be a major headache as commuters were stalled in long lines of traffic for hours way past 19:00hrs.

The Police force attributed this to the movement of heavy-duty vehicles that were using the road at the time, something that one would have expected the traffic department to clamp down especially during the peak hours.