Brakes put on red-light cameras
Road Traffic Act shortcomings halt plans to enforce via electronic detection devices
Published:Monday | February 17, 2025 | 9:46 AMLivern Barrett/Senior Staff Reporter
Traffic offences, such as excessive speeding and running a red light, are not being enforced through the use of electronic detection devices nearly two years after such tools were authorised under the country’s modernised road traffic legislation.
That is because of shortcomings identified in the enforcement framework set out in the upgraded Road Traffic Act (RTA), the Ministry of National Security has disclosed.
Motorists using the popular traffic navigation app Waze have reported getting alerts about red-light detection cameras at a number of major intersections across Kingston and St Andrew.
However, both the Ministry of National Security and the Island Traffic Authority (ITA) said they have not installed any cameras.
The ITA acknowledged that there are cameras at several intersections but said they were “currently” being used by the police for “surveillance purposes” and not the ticketing aspect” of the law.
“JCF personnel utilise them for things like investigations and deployment,” the ITA explained yesterday, making reference to the Jamaica Constabulary Force.
The RTA, which came into effect in February 2023, stipulates, under part seven of the regulations, that the ITA may cause or permit an electronic detection device to be installed on or near a road.
Exceeding the speed limit, disobeying a traffic signal, driving in an unauthorised lane such as a bus lane, making an improper turn, and driving a motor vehicle without the proper certificates of registration and fitness are some of the offences the electronic detection system is authorised to enforce.
A total of 269 motor vehicle crashes last year resulted from excessive speeding (87) and other improper use of the roads, according to data from the ITA.
‘electronic means only’
The national security ministry, in explaining some of the shortcomings encountered, noted that the RTA regulations, in their current form, allow for traffic tickets to be served “via electronic means only”.
“However, since it is not mandatory for all drivers to provide and maintain email addresses, further adjustments are required to implement this form of enforcement in a legally sustainable way,” the ministry said in a January 29 email responding to questions submitted by The Gleaner.
Among the remedies being contemplated is updating the RTA regulations to allow for tickets to be issued via registered mail and “other practicable means to reflect Jamaica’s diverse socio-economic realities”, it said.
Another fix under consideration is mandating motorists to provide an email address as a condition of obtaining their motor vehicle registration certificate.
“This would enable the creation of a database of current email addresses to which [traffic] citations and evidence of the infractions may be sent as obtains in other jurisdictions,” the ministry explained.
A final decision has not been made on the proposed fix.
Another issue authorities have identified is where a motor vehicle cited for a traffic violation is owned by more than one person.
The ministry acknowledged that the existing RTA regulations require updating to specify how liability will be determined.
“It is unclear whether joint owners should be held jointly accountable for breaches, pay the full fine or whether fines should be apportioned among them,” it said.
One remedy under consideration, the ministry disclosed, is to designate the primary registered owner of the vehicle as the recipient of the traffic ticket.
“Understandably, there are several legal considerations that must be settled before a definitive position can be finalised, and this requires extensive consultations among stakeholders.
“The Ministry of National Security and the Ministry of Science, Energy, Technology, and Transport are in consultations in relation to additional legislative work that is required in order to support the effective implementation of advanced video-enforcement technology to allow for subsequent enforcement by the Jamaica Constabulary Force.”
Three hundred and sixty-four people died in motor vehicle crashes last year, the lowest in the last seven years, according to ITA statistics.