Michelle-Ann Letman, Gleaner Writer

Branded as repeat offenders, 20 taxi and bus operators were yesterday ordered locked up for two days each by Resident Magistrate Chrisanthia Brown when they appeared in the St Mary Traffic Court.

Some of the men even broke down in tears, while others who were awaiting their judgement, quickly disappeared from the courtroom. Warrants have since been issued for their arrest.

"She (RM Brown) is sending a strong message to the motorists," Corporal Angela McTaggart of the Constabulary Communication Network told The Gleaner. "Many of these traffic offenders take it for a joke, they just expect to come to court and pay the fine, they never expected anything like this," she added.

"Maybe they will now take it more seriously because they realise that we are more serious," she continued.

Wrongfully charged

Persons present in the courtroom started to grumble when the judge imposed a fine of $20,000 on a taxi operator who was charged for not having a fire extinguisher in his vehicle. The fine was later withdrawn when the court was told that the taxi operator was wrongfully charged. A fine of up to $100,000 can be imposed on a person who operates a vehicle without a fire extinguisher.

Fines for traffic offences can range from $2,500 to $100,000.

Corporal McTaggart informed The Gleaner that some of the most common offences include taxi operators having no PPV badges, uniforms or logbooks. The logbooks, she noted, should be used to record the amount of petrol used, the routes they have covered and the mileage.