General driver's licences on the rise because of SUVs
Published:Thursday | March 24, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Edmond Campbell, Senior Staff Reporter
TRANSPORT AND Works Minister Mike Henry has indicated that the issuance of a larger number of general driver's licences as against private driver's licences may be due in part to the increased number of sport utility vehicles (SUVs) imported into the country.
On Tuesday, members of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee expressed surprise that more than 80 per cent of drivers in Jamaica had been certified with general driver's licences.
Henry told The Gleaner yesterday that he had asked executives at the Island Traffic Authority (ITA) to provide additional details on the issue.
However, the transport minister provided an initial response to what appears to be a startling disparity in the number of persons certified by the ITA to drive larger vehicles as against those passed as competent to drive motor cars.
Executives from the Inland Revenue Department on Tuesday reported that, of the 514,935 driver's licences granted in the category of private and general, 78,935 were private.
"There are many SUVs that would fall into a category that requires a general driver's licence and an increased number of SUVs may account for some of that.
"So the issue is not quite as clear-cut as numbers.
"If you are driving the SUV and you don't have a general licence, you are subject to prosecution by the police," Henry pointed out.
The minister divulged that instructions have been given for the drafting of traffic bills to address issues in legislation dating back to 1935.
He said proposed changes to traffic laws would address the discrepancy surrounding some vehicles designated as category two as against category one at the tollbooth.