He's only been the Director of the City's Traffic Department for 7 weeks, but Michael Godoy is making enemies quickly. Godoy has steadily been implementing crackdowns in areas where the department was usually lax. First he's going to remove customized license plates, then he's going to remove those flashy lights so popular on some cars, and then he's going to start issuing license plates for bicycles. It's not an easy road he plans to travel, and this week the department hit the skids when 7NEWS highlighted the practice of removing unauthorized license plates in "center-street". Godoy today told us that the principle was right, but the practice was way off.
Michael Godoy, Traffic Manager - Belize City
"Only the Department of Transport and the City of Belize are authorized to issue license plates. None of these agencies, no Print Belize, no Neon Plastics, no Belize Traders---nobody else is authorized to issue these plates."
And if others start making plates, Godoy says it opens up to criminal opportunities:
Jules Vasquez,
Without having one single central regulator of all license plates in the country it opens the doors...
Michael Godoy,
"It opens the door for criminals to do the farthest deeds. People can go out there, say Jules has a nice Prado or something and five of them look alike. The criminal can say I will commit a criminal offense and I will make sure I use Jules' license plates number and he goes and have this plate made and puts it on the vehicle, commits the crime, and it is Jules who we will come and look for."
Buy Godoy concedes that it is his department that authorized many of the now prohibited plates:
Michael Godoy,
"The previous traffic manager had authorized some personalized plates. What we have done in that situation there is that, first of all its not just the traffic officers that are out there issuing tickets but also the Police Traffic Department that issues ticket, so in discussions with the Mayor we have agreed that those people who were in possession from the past traffic managers, we will cancel tickets that were issued to them and advise them that they must immediately put on the original plates that they should have on their vehicles. If they do not have original plates, then we will provide them with those plates."
And now they're taking them off in the streets, a misguided practice that has been discontinued.
Michael Godoy,
"As the person in charge here I would like to apologize for those plates that have been screwed off out there because it was not necessary. As I mentioned before we had given out warning tickets and if we meet you again we issued another ticket, so you will continue getting tickets until you take off the plates."
Jules Vasquez,
So that sort of crude tactic was a mistake and one that you regret?
Michael Godoy,
"Yeah I will have to say that I take full responsibility and I am, as I said, I'd like to apologize to those people who felt any discomfort in the brakes being screwed off on the streets."
But those who do like these plates may have a chance to get them legally sometime soon but through his department.
Michael Godoy,
"We're hopeful, we've already looked at the legislation, and we see this as another means that down the road, not too far we hope, that we can earn some revenues from it. As you know in the U.S., all over, there are these vanity plates, and also these personalized plates as such, and they pay a yearly fee to use them and a fee also to acquire them. So we're looking into that."
Presently Belize imports all its license plates from Honduras and Godoy says that to have it made locally by Print Belize would drive the cost up. Still they will negotiate to see if it can be done locally.
