With the introduction of the new licensing system, the Department of Road Traffic has seen a reduction of illegal issuing of driver’s license, said Ministry of Transport and Aviation Permanent Secretary Archie Nairn.
According to Mr. Nairn, some motorists, who drive freely on the streets of Nassau, illegally obtained a license after they did not pass the formal testing. Because of the new licensing system, those cases have been reduced.
“We wish to highlight that the new driver’s licensing system has allowed the Road Traffic Department to do a number of things, but there’s been several reports in the past where licenses were being issued behind the scenes. We believe that this new system has, if those reports were true, certainly curbed, if not eliminated that kind of activity and it provides for better accountability,” said Mr. Nairn.
Unlike the driver’s license in the past, the new system’s license is a document with a picture. Obtaining a license is also a bit more difficult as persons seeking their licenses have to sit a written exam as well as the driver’s test.
“It’s a ready form of identification and other permanent information on that document, can easily be used for a number of things. Many Bahamians has taken advantage of the three-year term as oppose to the one-year term,” said Mr. Nairn.
Although Mr. Nairn assured that the licensing system is very effective, persons looking to retrieve driver’s license or renewals were forced to wait longer as the Department of Road Traffic has temporarily relocated to Parliament Street.
“There is a back-up of the sewer system at the moment in the Clarence Bain Building. The primary cause is probably in the third or fourth floors. Even though the Department is located on the bottom floor, it is effected more than any other departments in the building,” he said.
“Some infrastructural problems at the Clarence Bain Building has caused the Department of Road Traffic to curb services that is relevant to the public,” Mr. Nairn said at a recent press conference. “We hope that those difficulties will be resolved very soon, that business will continue as usual at the Department.”
Mr. Nairn that there will be significant disruptions in services for the beginning of week, some of the employees were displaced to the Exception Centre on West Bay Street to continue service to the public.
By Khashan Poitier, The Nassau Guardian
