Magistrates have yet to get up to speed on tough new drink driving laws, The Royal Gazette can reveal.

For they are still banning drivers from classes of vehicles -- weeks after the law was changed to introduce blanket bans for serious road offences.

And legal experts last night said the only route was for Police to appeal the decisions and have the offenders hauled back before the courts.

Last night Transport Minister Wayne Furbert -- who steered the new law through the House of Assembly -- said he was stunned the new law was not being enforced nearly ten weeks after Governor Thorold Masefield signed it into law.

He said: "The law has definitely been changed -- what happens now is out of my jurisdiction. I suppose it's the Magistrates who are breaking the law now.'' Mr. Furbert added: "People were upset because they felt Government wasn't doing anything about this problem.

"We have done something -- Magistrates should be aware the law has changed, get a copy of it and read it.'' And Public Safety Minister Quinton Edness added: "If people break the law and mandatory sentencing is in place, then the court should somehow rectify that.

"If it means the Police have to appeal the sentence to Supreme Court, that's an enormous expense -- but maybe that's justice and it should be done.'' In the last few days, Senior Magistrate Will Francis has allowed two offenders -- one found to be four times over the drinks driving limit -- to keep on driving, even though the law changed on January 16.

Mr. Francis said last night he only received a copy of the amendment yesterday.

He added: "I've just drawn it to the attention of one of the other Magistrates -- it took him completely by surprise.

"I knew it was in the works, but I didn't know it had come into force. But we'll now be applying it.'' Mr. Francis declined to speculate how many people had got the green light to keep on driving -- despite exemptions being made illegal by the Road Traffic Amendment Act 1997.

He said: "It's not dozens -- most people have been taken off the road for all vehicles.

"It's only in cases where I'm satisfied that a licence is a tool of their trade that I grant an exemption.'' And he confirmed: "The only way to remedy it now would be to appeal the sentences.'' The Act created new offences connected with driving while impaired -- and removed Magistrates' discretion to ban offenders from certain classes of vehicle only.

The Royal Gazette reported two cases on Monday where Mr. Francis had flouted the new law and allowed drinks drivers to keep some form of transport.

Businessman Richard Southwell, 27, of Paget, was initially disqualified from all vehicles for a year and fined $450.

He was caught driving a motorcycle while more than twice the legal drinks driving limit on Crow Lane on February 28.

But -- after reading a letter from Southwell's employer -- Mr. Francis said he did not want the accused to lose his job and banned him from motorcycles only.

Mr. Francis also allowed plumber Elroy Kelly of Warwick, to keep on driving everything except private cars -- despite the accused registering more than four times the legal alcohol limit for driving.

Mr. Francis fined Kelly, 44, $600 and banned him from private cars for a year.

And Magistrate Ed King allowed Mevin Nusum, 52, of Pembroke, to keep on trucking on January 28.

He allowed Nusum to keep his commercial vehicles licence after he admitted driving while more than double the legal limit in his car.