Letter of the Day | What are the safeguards for motorists in a digital system?

THE EDITOR, Madam:

I am writing to bring to the attention a concerning issue I experienced on the morning of Friday, October 24 while waiting at the traffic light on Caledonia Avenue in Cross Roads, Kingston.

At 11:34 a.m., a policeman approached my window and informed me that my vehicle’s certificate of fitness had expired, citing information from a government-issued electronic gadget. However, I had recently renewed it myself, and remembered that the expiration date is January 2026. Thankfully I was able to produce the physical copy, which corroborated my claim, thereby proving the policeman had the wrong information.

The check of my licence plate appeared to be random – perhaps part of a performance management system to drive targets – in such cases, the number of tickets issued can possibly being a key metric. If that is the case, it is concerning.

The potential consequences of relying solely on electronic systems, when they can malfunction, is also concerning. When paper is fully abolished, what measures will be in place to protect motorists from such errors?

H. JOHNSON

hjohnson@cwjamaica.com