Stubborn drivers hurt tint removal efforts

The efforts of the police's Traffic Division to remove tints from public passenger vehicles are somewhat being affected by drivers who refuse to comply, and 'warner men' who divert traffic from checkpoints.

Yesterday afternoon, a loader man, who operates along East Queen Street in downtown Kingston, took a break from his job to take on the role of a warner man, hollering loudly, "A pure police round deh so! Dem deh roun deh so!"

With that tip-off, numerous tinted passenger vehicles, and those guilty of other traffic violations, quickly diverted from their intended route, thereby effectively escaping the enforcement officers who were around the corner.

Cops aware of warner men

Deputy Superintended Errol Adams, who headed a team of officers working in the Corporate Area to enforce the removal of tints from public passenger vehicles, told THE STAR that they are well aware of the warner men.

"It's part of the enforcement landscape. What we do is, we change location from time to time. We are just coming from Half-Way Tree [St Andrew], where we would have prosecuted a number of persons for tints and other offences," he said.

Despite the tip-offs to non-compliant operators, Adams said he believes their efforts are still effective based on his observation.

"When I looked at the number of public passenger vehicles since coming out here [downtown Kingston], we realised that a fair number are compliant," he said.

After standing along South Parade, he said that within an hour he observed that about 70 per cent of the public passenger vehicles did not have tints. The others were ordered to remove them on spot.

However, one bus operator who was furious after he was forced to remove his on spot told THE STAR that he will spend $18,000 to re-tint his bus the same day. He said passengers are reluctant to stay in untinted buses.

"A wickedness this dem a gwaan wid. The sun penetrate through the glass, and the passenger them hot," he explained.

Last Wednesday, Prime Minister Andrew Holness ordered that all heavy tints be removed from public passenger vehicles in light of the upsurge in violence against women and girls, said to be perpetrated by men posing as taxi drivers.