Roadtown, Tortola - Cap 218 1998 of the Road Traffic Amendment Act, 2009 which refers to the traffic wardens was debated and subsequently referred to a select committee of the House of Assembly before receiving its third reading.

The Minister for Communications and Works, Hon. Julian Fraser RA, moved a motion for the second reading of the Road Traffic Amendment Act, 2009 yesterday during the ninth sitting of the second session of the First House of Assembly of the Virgin Islands.

“We expect that the committee will make recommendations, along with any further concerns that may be raised and it will be up to us to address those concerns. Make no mistake about it, Government is committed to proceed with this initiative and it is up to us to satisfy those who have concerns and make sure that it works,” Minister Fraser told the Department of Information and Public Relations.

According to the proposed policy, a traffic warden shall be a person designated by the Minister for communications and Works to control traffic and execute fixed penalties and citations for traffic violations.

The minister’s vision for the traffic wardens is to bring order and to ensure that traffic flows with minimal disruptions. “Within my structure I expect the traffic wardens to do the things you see happening in orderly society in order to ensure that traffic flows according to the desires of the authority by having a presence that deters illegal activity on the road like speeding and illegal parking,” Honourable Fraser said.

According to the minister, the traffic wardens would have a clear mandate to direct traffic and to issue tickets in the cases of infractions of the road traffic regulations. “I would love to see a system where the traffic flows without interruption, I just think that it can be done,” the minister continued.

The amendment to the Road Traffic Act, will give the necessary enforcement powers to the traffic wardens to effectively enforce the revised road traffic regulations which were approved by Cabinet on June 09, 2009 and comes into effect on August 31, 2009.