Police able to resume issuing tickets for non-compliance
NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Motorists are being urged and warned to have their vehicles licensed and insurance up-to-date as the 30-day grace period given by the government following the end of the COVID-19 emergency order ends on Monday.
We would encourage everyone to go ahead and comply with licensing.
– Minister of National Security Wayne Munroe
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in The Bahamas, the emergency orders suspended the requirement to present any vehicle for inspection for the renewal of a license for the duration of the state of public emergency and extending 60 days after.
However, there was a legal view from the Office of the Attorney General that that suspension ended in May 2020 with the end of the first state of emergency, although the state of emergency was later extended several times.
Minister of National Security Wayne Munroe sought to clarify the matter last month, indicating that while the protocol has been debated over when the special provision truly ended, police have been operating in line with the initial order and a month grace period.
“The hard letter of the law was tempered by mercy to say you have an additional month to do it,” he said.
“What you will find is that if you let timelines slip, they will continue to slip, and so, the public is encouraged to seek to reach the deadline extended for continuing breach because if one accepts the advice of the attorney general, everyone is in breach from 2020.”
While motorists could have been ticketed for not having car insurance, they were exempted from car licensing and registration.
However, if motorists are non-compliant by Monday, officers are able to issue tickets.
“We would encourage everyone to go ahead and comply with licensing,” Munroe added.
“It’s how the government gets revenue to do the many things that have to happen.”
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a public state of emergency has been in effect since last March, along with teetering lockdowns and daily curfews.
There have been four separate proclamations since the first one last year, with the extension of the last one ending on November 13.
The Davis administration has since removed the state of emergency and curfews and implemented a legislative regime to govern COVID-19 mitigation.
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