Over the past month a reform was brought in, initially with the least publicity, but it now has turned out to be a quite controversial reform that could have negative impact on business in general.
We are speaking about the points system in driving. Originally, the points system was restricted to new drivers. Now, it has been extended to all drivers.
On the face of it, stricter enforcement of traffic laws should be welcomed by one and all, considering the amount of traffic accidents and deaths on the road on our densely populated island.
But the actual implementation of the points system across all ages has brought with it some consequences which may not have been foretold before.
One issue, for instance, regards car hire firms where the owner becomes liable for any infractions carried out by people hiring the cars. While previously, this was a matter for paying a fine, this has now become an issue with the points of the owner, which is quite a different matter.
There is a procedure whereby the car owner can be declared as not having been the driver when the infraction was carried out, but so far it is a rather laborious procedure and time-consuming.
There is also the issue regarding proper consultation. GRTU has been quoted as saying that not enough consultation was carried out and that points it raised were not taken notice of.
In particular, it seems that most commercial vehicles are registered under their owner's name, not the driver. Here again, the points system, if fully implemented, would mean a laborious exercise by the owner to prove his points must not be decked, but the driver's.
Commercial drivers spend far more time on the road than people driving to and from work, and so they risk far more infringing the law than ordinary drivers. This, of course, is no reason why they should drive less carefully.
It is praiseworthy that so many police were on the roads on New Year's Eve and that no serious accidents took place. People have become very much aware that they should not drink and drive and the points system may have had an impact on ensuring order on the roads.
But a reform of such importance should have been better prepared. The people should have been more informed and the system should have been, still is, tweaked to take into account concerns raised by the people and the organisations that represent them.