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How to comply with the law - Part 2

March 3, 2010 by Edmund Gall

I wish to thank the Hon. Minister of Works and Transport, Colm Imbert, for correcting me by way of his Letter to the Editor (Trinidad Guardian, 02 Mar 2010, http://guardian.co.tt/commentary/letters/2010/03/02/ambiguity-law-being-corrected).  He responded to issues I raised in How to comply with the law - Part 1, and advised that: {Read more}

  • The Motor Vehicle and Road Traffic Act Ch 48:50 (MVRTA) does NOT state the President of the Republic of T&T is allowed to use the national Coat of Arms (CoA) on his vehicles' licence plates
  • The MVRTA makes no reference to the CoA at all
  • The currently proposed bill, 9/2010 The Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, 2010, only deals with updating regulations and does not address the use of the CoA on the Prime Minister's vehicles.

How to comply with the law

February 25, 2010 by Edmund Gall

I'd like to thank Parliament for reminding us that there are really two ways to comply with the laws of T&T: either change your behaviour, or change the law.
 
The old Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act, under Chapter 48:50, says that only the President has the authority to use the coat of arms on official vehicles.  The coat of arms appeared on the Prime Minister's vehicle, PBM 1, in late 2008, over one year ago.  The Prime Minister is not the President.  So it appeared to common thinking that those responsible for the Prime Minister's fleet of vehicles contravened the law, and the Prime Minister appeared happy to be transported in that vehicle despite the questions over its legality.
 
How does this get rectified?  Rather than remove the coat of arms from PBM 1, the Government seeks to change the law.
 
Just to complete the lesson, the Hon. Minister of Works and Transport, who piloted this change in the law, simultaneously justified revised penalties for other traffic law contraventions based on the existence of consistent complaints about lawlessness on the roads.
 
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