Cabbies and residents protest in Westmoreland over poor roads, demerit system

WESTMORELAND, Jamaica—Taxi operators along with residents mounted roadblocks Monday in sections of Westmoreland, including Shrewsbury, Bullet Tree and Harford, in protest of poor road conditions and the new demerit point system. A resident told Observer Online that the protest began sometime after 6 am. "They are protesting poor road conditions and based on the new rules that come in. They said that the police not asking any questions, they just see you on the road and when they stop you they just give you the ticket and when you ask them what is it for, them say ask the government," the resident added. The new demerit point system, which was set to take effect on October 1, 2026, has been delayed following a consensus reached by the Public Transport Operators Steering Committee and transport stakeholders until a full revision is completed. READ: Demerit point system implementation delayed The revision is expected to incorporate recommendations from the committee as well as the roll out of an education programme. Under the demerit system, every driver begins with zero points. Demerit points are added to a driver’s traffic record when specified offences are committed, and a driver’s licence is automatically suspended once the accumulated points reach the prescribed thresholds.