Jamaica delays demerit-point rollout as road-safety advocates warn lives are at stake

KINGSTON — Jamaica’s government has pushed back the long-promised demerit-point system for traffic offences, and the island’s road-safety community is not hiding its frustration. The vice-chairman of the National Road Safety Council, Dr Lucien Jones — who has campaigned for years to see repeat dangerous driving carry consequences on a licence — called the latest postponement both disheartening and dangerous.

Points systems work by attaching escalating penalties to a driver’s record, so the habitual speeder answers for the pattern and not just the single ticket. Advocates argue every month of delay leaves rogue drivers free of that pressure on roads that can least afford it — an argument Guyanese road users will find painfully familiar.

— LRTVS News Desk