The Ministry of Transport and Works has announced a three-month moratorium on the enforcement of new tint legislation, which was to take effect tomorrow.
In a statement yesterday, the Ministry confirmed that Cabinet last Thursday agreed to delay enforcement until early December after recommendations made during a meeting the previous day of key public and private sector stakeholders, including The Barbados Police Service, the Barbados Licensing Authority and vehicle tint suppliers and installers.
“During this meeting of stakeholders, senior officers of The Barbados Police Service provided graphic accounts of crimes, including fatal gun attacks, committed by perpetrators travelling in heavily tinted vehicles. They also explained the extreme risk officers are exposed to when approaching heavily tinted vehicles, even during routine traffic stops.
Won’t stop crime
“The stakeholders attending the meeting agreed that while the enforcement of the tint law will not stop crime, it goes a long way in aiding The Barbados Police Service in the execution of their job safely. It was agreed by all that the safety of police officers who work each day to protect us all should be the paramount consideration. They also felt that, since many motorists have been unable to comply with the deadline due to the inability of tint installers to meet the heavy demand, enforcement should be further deferred in order to give motorists additional time to become compliant”.
In addition to the three-month moratorium, there will also be an amendment to the Road Traffic Regulations to change the visible light transmission of the rear windscreen from 70 per cent to 20 per cent,with a three-point margin of error during tint testing.
The statement noted that public service vehicles (PSVs) such as route taxis and minibuses would be subject to the same tint regulations as other motor vehicles.
The release stated that individuals with medical conditions who applied for exemptions from compliance would be required to provide a letter from a specialist medical doctor.
Chairman of the Alliance Owners of Public Transport Operators (AOPT), Roy Raphael, welcomed the moratorium.
“On behalf of the association, we welcome this move. I think it’s a step in the right direction. Before the implementation, we would like to have a special meeting with the authorities, along with the Attorney General, the police and all of those persons, so that we can see how best we can look at the legislation, how best the legislation could be enforced, or if we need to tweak it some more, to go back to Parliament.”
He added that the PSV sector wanted to use the extra time to encourage public education.
“We are ready, willing and able to sit with the relevant authorities to ensure that we have a clear understanding of where the legislation is going. I think that’s the real issue here – at least, we’re not clear, the legislation is not clear,” he added.
Opposition Leader Ralph Thorne has called for the measure to be withdrawn altogether.
“The Government began this debate on violent crime with a very terse, callous, intemperate and contemptuous statement by the Prime Minister that she wanted money. It is clear that the Government is now trying to retreat from that dismissive stance, although they went ahead with the ill-advised legislation.”
“This trend, by which Government retreats from its legislation, has become a very worrying characteristic of governance in Barbados. We seem to be under government of uncertainty.”
Thorne questioned whether the timing of the moratorium was linked to financial pressures faced by the public.
“Many people in Barbados are experiencing financial hardship, especially at this time where school resumes in a few days. We wonder whether this moratorium is more about financial considerations and less about the justice of the matter.”
Thorne said further consultations were necessary before any implementation.
“Until these consultations take place, it is unreasonable to merely postpone the implementation of unreasonable proposals. We have previously asked the Government to withdraw the legislation and now ask the Government to restart the process and to satisfy Barbadians that tint legislation is at the heart of the fight against violent crime.”
Collecting money
“Since the Prime Minister admitted that the legislation was more about collecting money and less about preventing violent crime, we must defend innocent vehicle owners against the additional financial hardship that the legislation will impose on them,” he said.
The debate over tint laws has been ongoing for several weeks and owners of tint shops reported being inundated with requests in the lead-up to the September 1 deadline, leaving many vehicle owners unable to comply in time.
The release noted that installers stressed during the stakeholders meeting that, given the advances in technology, it was now possible to install lighter tints that offered vehicle operators the same level of protection against sunlight intrusion as darker tints of the past.
It added that the ministry would continue to offer free tint testing at various locations to be announced for motorists who wanted to ascertain their degree of compliance. (CLM)
