Are we there yet? First thing’s first

Two weeks ago, petrolheads were up in arms over Joint Administrative Order (JAO) 2014-01.  Their main beef was with the fact that the JAO included a hefty fine for anyone who modified their motor vehicles.  For now, I will leave that to the petrolheads and transportation, licensing and trade offices to settle that issue.  I would rather harp on the fact that these offices should really stop churning out pointless laws after pointless laws.  We all know that workers in those offices are hard pressed to pretend that they are actually doing decent work.  But drafting laws that they don’t implement is a totally different matter.

Take for instance Administrative Order (AO) AHS 2008-013 (Rules and Regulations for the Use and Operation of Motorcycles on Highways).  The transport office drafted this order to specifically point out how motorcyclists should behave on the road.  If you read Section IV (Passenger and Cargo Load), it states that “Only one back rider shall be allowed on a motorcycle or scooter who must be provided with a seat and footrest.”  Have you ever seen a traffic enforcer flag down a scooter or moped with multiple passengers and tagged the driver for violating Section IV?  I won’t even harp about the number of passengers who do not wear a helmet.  Back riding school children anyone?

There’s also a clause in the AO that states, “The driver/rider shall, anytime of the day, switch on the headlight of the motorcycle or scooter while it is being operated on the highway.”  There are plenty scooter or moped drivers that do not even switch on their lights at night, what more for switching on their lights the entire day?  And is anyone being called on for this violation?

My personal favorite in this AO is Section IX (Miscellaneous Traffic Rules) C, which states, “A driver/rider shall observe the rule and on one lane per one vehicle only.  Lane splitting is prohibited along a road or a highway.  Motorcycles or scooters shall not be operated on sidewalks.”  From scooters and mopeds that snake in and out of lanes to get to the front, to those that squeeze beside you as you negotiate single lane roads, to those that cross yellow lines just to overtake, I have yet to see a traffic or law enforcer flag these offenders down and cite them for these violations.  I especially love how running on sidewalks is also being highlighted as a violation, yet I see that persistently happening without anyone being charged.

This AO was made into law in 2008.  I have yet to see at least two of the three items I listed above being strictly implemented.  Let me just limit it to those three for the helmet law, and all other provisions outlined in the OA are already a lost cause.

If these regulatory offices believe that churning out laws after ridiculous laws is an effective way of keeping motorists in line, they are sorely mistaken.  What they must do is draft a law then strictly implement it to the dot.  The fines that a motorist would incur for their violations would become secondary.  I am pretty sure that having to fork out at least one thousand five hundred for each violation is going to get pretty steep if it happens on an almost daily basis.

Piece of advice to the triumvirate offices who came up with the JAO, strictly enforce all the original traffic rules first before you go and draft another one which you won’t implement anyway.  We know that you guys want us to believe you are putting in decent work.  Strictly implementing and enforcing existing laws would greatly encourage us to start believing you.  [email protected]