RBPF: Unlicensed vehicles not being ticketed, only uninsured

RBPF: Unlicensed vehicles not being ticketed, only uninsured
(FILE PHOTO)

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — While citations have been issued to some motorists with uninsured vehicles, police sought to clarify yesterday that the COVID-19 emergency orders allow for unlicensed vehicles.

Police officers were placed at various checkpoints in New Providence to ensure people were adhering to the traffic laws and emergency orders.

Chief Superintendent Bernard K Bonamy Jr., who heads the southwestern division, said: “We are not issuing citations for persons in unlicensed cars. We just want to ensure that the car is insured. If you still have an accident, it still has to be treated as one, and you need your insurance papers.

“All of those matters where persons are booked or reported for traffic matters, present yourself to the traffic division and the traffic division will determine what they will do with them.”

He noted that even if someone may have already been ticketed for licensing, that does not mean they will have to pay the fine.

“We understand what was said by the prime minister earlier in the year. We just ask members of the public to have their cars licensed,” he added.

“Insurance companies are opened, so there is no reason why your car cannot be insured.

“We still want you to drive safe, make sure that you don’t get yourself into no accident, just obey all of the traffic laws.”

The Road Traffic Department was inundated with people yesterday, many of whom queued long lines in their vehicles that wrapped around the Thomas Robinson National Stadium.

According to the emergency orders, the requirement to present any vehicle for inspection for the renewal of a license is suspended from the 17th day of March for the duration of the state of public emergency and extending sixty days after.

Commissioner of Police Paul Rolle said the road checks, along with other initiatives being launched, were apart of his policing plan.

“We are not clamping down on any area,” he said.

“The road checks are to put a presence out there for persons to know we are still here.

“We are enforcing the minor infractions. We are enforcing the traffic laws and we are also looking for persons that we may be interested in.”

About Sloan Smith

Sloan Smith is a senior digital reporter at Eyewitness News, covering a diverse range of beats, from politics and crime to environment and human interest. In 2018, Sloan received a nomination for the “Leslie Higgs Feature Writer of The Year Award” from The Bahamas Press Club for her work with Eyewitness News.