Chief Justice Sykes Affirms Courts Still Apply Demerit Points and Licence Disqualification for Traffic Offences

Motorists who appear before the courts remain subject to demerit points and possible disqualification from holding a driver's licence where the law demands it, Chief Justice Bryan Sykes has stated. His remarks come as the Government prepares to launch the administrative demerit points framework under the Road Traffic Act, 2018, and the Road Traffic Regulations, 2022.

The Chief Justice's position was set out following Transport Minister Daryl Vaz's announcement last Thursday that the pause on administrative rollout of the demerit points system will lift on September 30, with full operation beginning October 1. Vaz indicated that drivers who clear outstanding traffic tickets and bring themselves into compliance by September 30 should not face negative consequences once the new regime takes effect.

In a statement released on Monday, Sykes said anyone appearing in court—including at the Traffic Ticket Public Days planned for July 8 and 9 in Kingston and St Andrew—should anticipate that offences will be dealt with under the governing statutes.

He pointed out that violations occurring before February 1, 2023, fall under the Road Traffic Act, 1938. That older law obliges courts to direct that applicable demerit points be recorded and, where the legislation provides, that drivers be disqualified.

"It should therefore be noted that application of the demerit points system, in respect of offences under the 1938 Act, has remained operative and continues to be administered by the courts where the legislation so requires," Sykes said.

The judiciary further observed that provisions of the Road Traffic Act, 2018, covering the build-up of demerit points and the suspension of driver's licences by the Island Traffic Authority, took effect on January 25, 2023, and have since been enforced through the courts.

The 2018 Act, the statement added, retains significant powers for judges, including authority under Section 35 to bar individuals from holding or obtaining a driver's licence in defined situations. The law also mandates disqualification upon conviction for certain offences, among them a second or subsequent conviction for careless driving.

"Accordingly, where a person appears before the court and the circumstances require disqualification, the court is obliged to make the appropriate order," the statement said.

Sykes said the public clarification was meant to make clear that the courts "have continued to exercise only those powers expressly conferred by the applicable legislation" and have applied both the Road Traffic Act, 1938, and the Road Traffic Act, 2018, in line with their commencement dates and the duties Parliament has placed on the judiciary.