Justice Minister Endorses Demerit System to Rein in Reckless Driving

Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Hon. Delroy Chuck, has voiced strong support for the Government’s Demerit Point System, declaring that the time has come to remove reckless motorists from the roads and restore law and order on Jamaica’s streets.

Speaking during the Trelawny Justice of the Peace Association’s Commissioning Ceremony for 19 newly minted members at the Glistening Waters Hotel in Falmouth on Friday (June 26), Mr. Chuck endorsed the initiative spearheaded by Minister of Energy, Transport and Telecommunications, Hon. Daryl Vaz, which is scheduled to take effect on October 1, 2026.

The system is being implemented under the Road Traffic Act, 2018, and the Road Traffic Regulations, 2022. Under its provisions, motorists who accumulate sufficient demerit points through repeated traffic violations may face suspension of their driver’s licences.

“You have a lot of people with 20… some of them 200 tickets… and they treat it as confetti. We wanted to start at the end of July. But we wanted to give the courts more time, so that those persons who want to benefit by paying their traffic tickets before October 1 can do so,” Mr. Chuck stated.

He indicated that motorists who settle outstanding tickets by the end of September will not have demerit points applied retroactively. However, those who fail to pay, or who are found guilty by the courts after October 1, will see points begin to accumulate against their licences.

In the meantime, the Justice Minister used the occasion to caution against a growing practice that, he argued, has turned the nation’s courtrooms into a little more than bill-payment counters, rather than spaces reserved for genuine legal disputes.

He noted that many motorists plead not guilty—not to contest the charge, but in the expectation that the court will reduce the fine.

However, Mr. Chuck cautioned that this approach has become far more precarious under the current law.

“The law now empowers judges to impose fines greater than those listed on the ticket,” he explained.

The Minister urged motorists not to misuse the courts by entering not-guilty pleas when they are, in fact, culpable, noting that such actions consume valuable judicial time that should be reserved for genuine disputes.

Beyond road safety, Mr. Chuck used the ceremony to address the broader fight against crime and violence, commending the police for what he described as their outstanding work in recent years.

He called on the 19 newly minted Justices of the Peace to play an active role in supporting law enforcement in their communities, encouraging them to remain accessible to their nearest police stations and to assist officers with tasks such as taking statements when needed.