Attorney General Anil Nandlall is encouraging motorists to file lawsuits against Traffic Ranks who solicit bribe payments to avoid being locked up for ticketed offenses.

The Attorney General said the authorities are well aware that despite measures being put in place, some Traffic officers are still soliciting bribes from motorists under the pretext that they will be spared time in the lockups for certain traffic offences, when many of the offences do not carry any threat of jail time.

“That is why we are making these offences ticketed offences—so retain a lawyer and you will sue him and you will have to sue the Attorney General too so I will get involve, you don’t have to pay bribe and some people like paying the bribe, I am not trivializing the matter, we have received numerous complaints and this is something we have to address more seriously,” Mr. Nandlall noted.

On his “Issues in the News” programme last evening, Mr. Nandlall said the Government has been working on a number of traffic laws and has made several traffic offenses ticketed offenses.

He noted that while motorists have a duty to ensure that they comply with traffic laws, those laws clearly spell out the penalties attached.

“There are very few traffic offences for which a police officer can detain you, very few, so why are you paying bribe, corruption has two players, the briber and the bribee, corruption can’t take place unless the two actors act, if a bribe is ask of you, you have a cell phone, take their photograph and make it public, you cannot be locked up for a traffic offence,” the Attorney General said.

 Mr. Nandlall is also urging continued compliance of traffic laws by road users.

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