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FORMER Works and Transport Minister Jack Warner is questioning whether state-owned vehicles was being kept roadworthy and will be held to the same standards of punitive accountability as citizens now are, amid a 100 per cent hike in road traffic fines, which went into effect on January 1.

In an open letter to incumbent minister Eli Zakour, Warner praised the fine increase despite backlash over its timing, saying decisive action was needed.

“Whether the objective of the increased fines is to curb the alarming rise in lawlessness on our nation’s roadways, to reduce the tragic toll of road fatalities, or indeed to contribute much-needed revenue to the public purse, I accept that stronger penalties are a legitimate tool in confronting the growing disregard for basic road rules,” the former MP said.