The Ministry of Transport and Housing yesterday said the government is introducing a $1,000 fine for people who rent their private vehicles without self-drive license plates.

The ministry issued a notice after it said a widely shared social media post wrongly suggested the renting of personal vehicles was allowed with the permission of the road traffic controller.

"The Road Traffic Act governs the licensing of vehicles in The Bahamas. Under the law, vehicles being rented to the public must have a self-drive (SD) license plate. In violation of the law, increasingly persons are unlawfully renting private vehicles without an SD license. This creates significant danger to the public, as private vehicles are not insured for commercial use," the ministry said in a statement.

"The Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill, 2023 as tabled in the House of Assembly reinforces the prohibition on renting private vehicles to the public and introduces a fine of up to $1,000 for persons violating the law. A draft of the amendment being shared on social media and other communication channels falsely suggests that any registered owner of a motor vehicle in The Bahamas must seek the written permission of the controller of the Road Traffic Department to permit any other person to use his motor vehicle on any road."

The recently tabled Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill, 2023 seeks to amend section 31 of the principal act, "to prohibit the owner of a motor vehicle licensed as a private motor vehicle from renting it to another person, and an owner who contravenes the provision is liable on summary conviction to a fine not less than five hundred dollars but not exceeding one thousand dollars."

The bill also seeks to introduce a new $50 fee for obtaining a motor vehicle license history record; as well as a $1 fee per page for obtaining a motor vehicle license history record.

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