anna-lia.paul@guardian.co.tt
Senior Reporter
The special unit comprising officers from the Licensing Division and the T&T Police Service (TTPS) was kept busy enforcing vehicle regulations over the Carnival weekend.
Even after warning band owners and mas leaders that their trucks could be pulled off the Carnival circuit for non-compliance days before the culmination of the festivities, at least two bands were inconvenienced after this happened on Carnival Sunday at South Quay, Port-of-Spain; and along Ariapita Avenue, Woodbrook, on Monday.
Meanwhile, the operator of a music truck for the band Belmont Exotic Stylish Sailors faced some heat from the enforcement team at 10.05 am yesterday, when he was stopped for exceeding the height requirement.
Darnell Hart, who was responsible for the music truck and trailer, admitted he was new to the Carnival operations and was forced to turn the top-most music box on its side in order to comply with the height requirements so they would be allowed to continue.
Speaking with reporters about that incident during a walkabout in Port-of-Spain yesterday, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Crime, Richard Smith, who is the Gold Commander for Carnival 2025, said, “We had one person taken off the route for infringement of specifications of these permits.”
Saying trucks were being inspected in every band by a special enforcement team, Smith said Sunday’s incident also occurred after the truck went beyond the height stipulation and pulled down overhead lines.
He said, “We had that truck taken off the route.”
Unable to say what penalties the owners/operators faced for non-compliance, he said, “We were exploring sanctions for persons who don’t comply with the stipulations as stated by Licensing Authority.”
Smith said although the Licensing Division stopped inspecting these trucks at their compound a few years ago, they provided the police with “stipulations to the promoters as well as those who are applying.”
Regarding yesterday’s incident at the corner of Victoria Avenue and Tragarete Road, Assistant Transport Commissioner Prakash Chaitram explained that the truck had exceeded the four-metre height stipulation.
He said, “Licensing officers would have given them a permit for four metres so right now, they have crossed that four-metre restriction by one-third, so they supposed to be 13 feet, two inches...but they are 14 feet, six inches, so we are asking them to pull off the box and put it to lie down.”
He said once this was done, the truck would have been allowed to proceed as it would no longer be a potential threat in terms of pulling down high-voltag wires.
He confirmed a similar incident occurred on Sunday during the hosting of Kiddies Carnival.
Chaitram said, “We are not charging the driver. We are just asking him to turn the box on its side, secure it and go on your way.”
Smith later told Guardian Media, “Generally, we have had compliance from the band leaders.”