Driving violators facing additional hazards
“Pele Police checks” will be stepped up during the dry season with an extra 200 of the the mini monitors, now in the hands of the National Police.
In 2010 the devices helped the police rope in hundreds of drivers in default with fines, or without their driving licenses and other documents in order. It also led to a whopping 25 percent increase in the income of the city’s transport authority.
On the down side it led to embarrassing revelations of motorists being held for expired problems, because the computer system was not updated.
A new add-on that will be introduced in the near future in cooperation with the Panamanian Association of Insurers, is a record of drivers' insurance policies enabling police to do an on the spot check up.