New Regulations For Garages Now In Effect
The Garages Licensing Act 2022 came into force earlier this month and sets out “new garage classes, licence and renewal fees and created offences and penalties for non-compliance” and also included an amendment that “increased the fine for non-compliant licence plates from $25.00 to $500.00 per plate.”
Minister of Transport Wayne Furbert said, “When the Garages Licensing Act 2022 came into force earlier this month [4 November], it represented a significant regulatory overhaul for public garages.
“We now have enforceable regulations to curtail the operation of unlicensed facilities and mechanics to protect the consumer. The Act set out new garage classes, licence and renewal fees and created offences and penalties for non-compliance.
“This new legislation was tabled in response to complaints received by the Transport Control Department [TCD] and the Office of Consumer Affairs from members of the public.
“Examples of the complaints are increased levels of noise and air pollution, sub-standard work produced by unqualified individuals, servicing and repairs of vehicles at private residences, cars parked and abandoned on public roads and in public parks, conducting business during inconvenient times and restricting road access when vehicles in for repair are parked on public roads preventing the passage of public, emergency or garbage collection vehicles.
“There are now eight different types of garage licences, and the legislation includes the process by which the respective licences can be acquired. Also included is the process for renewing licences, the duration and reasons why a licence may be revoked.
“Further, it specifies the rights to enter and inspect garages, what can happen if a ‘Stop Order’ is contravened, and how to launch an appeal. It should be noted that the Director of the TCD may issue a ‘Stop Order’, an administrative role previously held by the Minister of Transport.”
“The new legislation also included an amendment to the Traffic Offences [Penalties] Act 1976 that increased the fine for non-compliant licence plates from $25.00 to $500.00 per plate. It is important that vehicles can be properly identified in the event of an accident or emergency. Illegal license plates can also frustrate the efforts of law enforcement or ordinary citizens when using the roads. The increased penalty reflects the seriousness of the offence and the importance we place on the safety of road users.”
“Motorcycles are included in these amendments because they also fall under the Motor Car [Examination, Licensing and Registration] Regulations 1952.
“The legislation states that the characters, meaning numbers and letters on licence plates, must appear black against a white background. Also, the letter or letters and all figures on the plate shall be not less than three inches high and spaced correctly [see attached]. For motorcycles, the characters must appear green on a white background.”
A Government spokesperson said, “Numbers must appear black against a white background.
“The letter or letters and all figures on the plate shall be not less than three inches high.
“Every part of any letter or figure shall be at least seven-sixteenths of an inch broad.
“The total width of the space taken by any letter or figure shall be at least one and seven-sixteenth inches.
“The letter or group of letters and the figure or the group of figures shall be of uniform size.
“The space between any two letters or any two figures shall be three-eighths of an inch.
“The space between the letter or group of letters and the figure or group of figures shall be one and five-eighths inches.
“There shall be a margin, between the nearest part of any letter or figure and the top, bottom or sides of the plate, of at least half an inch.”
TA form gone, i guess they need to rob peter now to pay FOF
The cost of getting a car serviced was just increased by the PLP Government, what used to be called “the people’s Government”.
This legislation will not affect the vast majority of us in the slightest. We all have perfectly legal license plates.
This is how all license plates should be.
To those who have custom places with difficult to read numbers, too bad. You knew that you were illegal when you bought them.
Old style (black on silver) number plates have not been “illegal” until now.
And this is not just about number plates, it is about “new garage classes, licence and renewal fees and created offences and penalties for non-compliance”.
The “renewal fess” and other fees will be passed on to you and me.
It appears the government-issued vanity plates will have to be redone.
Why on earth would that be ? They’re issued by TCD after you pay the surcharge and are the only ‘other’ legal plate . The ‘other legal plate’ being the one the car drives out of the showroom with .
And what are you talking about when you say ‘old style black on silver have not been illegal until now’? The old style plates before we went to black numbers on a white background were white letters on a black background , not silver .
Refer again to ‘the plate that the car leaves the showroom with ‘.