Magistrate wants tougher penalties to make PMV drivers follow the law

National

By JIMMY KALEBE
TOUGHER laws and penalties should be imposed on Public Motor Vehicle drivers and crews to make them comply with traffic rules and regulations, a magistrate says.
Lae District Court magistrate Thomas Kuk says PMV owners must also know and comply accordingly and tell their drivers and crews to be cautious of traffic rules and regulations.
Kuk said this when fining Isaac Thomas, from Tambul in Western Highlands, K100 for driving a PMV bus in Lae city without a licence.
He said many drivers and crews in Lae city were not taking the route that they were registered for but taking another route which was causing inconvenience to the public and PMV users.
“Recently, there has been rise in cases with crews or drivers not having proper licences, faulty PMVs and unlicensed PMVs on the road,” Kuk said.  The current court fines of such traffic offences are too low and that has not given an effect to people to change their approach.
Kuk said another thing that was of utmost importance was the dress code for drivers and crews.
Currently, there is no standard code of dressing for the crews and drivers and that is something that the authorities should take into account, he said. Driving without licence has been an ongoing thing and those caught are always giving excuses to escape penalties. Kuk said though it was a traffic matter, it would in the long run add up to big things when not contained early.