No bans likely for importing right-hand drive, old cars — Rymer
Minister for Transportation & Works Kye Rymer said it was unlikely that right-hand drive vehicles and those older than 10 years will be banned from being imported into the territory.
Over the years, some residents have described right-hand driven vehicles as a nuisance in the territory, suggesting that they have helped — along with an increase in the importation of vehicles — to make the traffic situation in the territory overbearing.
“That document came to Cabinet where we spoke about limiting [the importation of] vehicles over a certain year. There won’t be a ban, but we’ll have increased duty for vehicles over a certain age,” Rymer said recently.
The Works Minister also noted that those vehicles that fall into the antique category will most likely attract a different rate.
And while admitting that there is an issue with the number of vehicles in the territory, Rymer said many persons took advantage of a reduction in import duties that government offered last year because of rising fuel prices globally. He said this led to an even greater increase in the importation of vehicles into the BVI.
The minister also pointed out that no new roads are being built in the territory.
“I think that was the premise for us to try to turn the traffic around in terms of making it a bit more efficient in terms of the flow,” he added. “I think it’s working pretty well in terms of the flow of traffic within the Road Town area.”
Rymer said the government is awaiting further information from the Ministry on how to move forward with limiting the vehicles.
In the meantime, the Works Minister said there has been an increase in passengers since the introduction of the government’s Park and Ride initiative which also helps to reduce the flow of traffic in the capital city.
While there have been minor hiccups and complaints periodically, Rymer said the initiative was working wonderfully and he encouraged persons to utilise the service, which he described as consistent and reliable.
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ELECTION COMING UP SO HE DONT WANT TO RUFFLE FEATHERS
A regular (hourly), reliable, affordable and air-conditioned bus service from East End to Town and West End to Town, along the Ocean Road, is the only real solution to the traffic problem. Banning old cars just limits affordable transport for people on low incomes. Building new roads is expensive, short-sighted, impractical given the topography of Tortola and doesn’t solve traffic problems in tight areas unless buildings are to be knocked down.
A bus service would also free up space in town that’s currently used for carparking. We could make the festival grounds a public park with grass and trees rather than the desolate car park it is now.
Before becoming a minister you implemented a fee when licensing a vehicle that would go directly to repairing the roads.Where is that money?
A coward
elections may be soon
People in the BVI has chosen to drive right hand cars. Would it be too much to ask for goverment to apply some common sense and organize a traffic lane reversal and switch to Right Hand Driving? (like the vast majority of the world).
EVERY country in the world has worked out that having the driver sit on the side of the car that is in the middle of the road rather than nearest the sidewalk/ pavement is the safest and most sensible thing to do, and yet here we are having a conversation about why we won’t be banning that. Makes no sense.
Problem tha I often see is that drivers of right hand vehicles can’t keep their side of the road.
If we sourced our vehicles from the same places that other countries who drive on the left do such as Antigua etc we wouldnt have a problem. Mind you some governments have strange ideas. When I arrived in Bahrain in the middle east, we drove on the left, with a mixture of left and right hand drive. The arabs loved those American monsters of the fifties and sixties. In November 1967 we changed to driving on the right. There was talk of banning righthand drive vehicles, completely forgetting that they hadnt banned lefthand drives all the years we drove on the left. It makes no sense for our government to even consider banning righthand drive vehicles, which are correct for driving on the left.
Banning older cars limits options for all classes of people, not just low income. From rich to poor, buying those used Japanese cars gives people greater value for their money vs buying a older local car and often enough, even new cars.
And why pay the bank every month on a new car loan, when the value of the car would depreciate rapidly?
Stupid argument. Go to any country that drive on the left side of the road. You will find that everyone keep on their side.
STOP the lies please. Thank you.
When will the territory realise that right-hand drive vehicles are designed to be driven in countries where you drive on the left. In the BVI we drive on the left. It is left-hand drive cars that cause the most problems. The lights are angled differently so left-hand vehicles shine their lights in the eyes of the oncoming drivers rather than lighting the road as they are designed to do. Taxis and buses allow passengers to exit the vehicle in the middle of the road in left-hand drives. It’s a joke. If you want to ban any vehicle, ban left-hand drives.
done mess up road town , you can common sence is lacking with some of these young people who has let the power go to their HEADS ( simply no experience, it’s like the blind leading us ?
This jack bi nimbo was at conservation, nothing to show. He was DMV, same. [Take] the people them idea for cross wark and it stuck like he! Orgarnize the car lights with them US fog lights, have them restrictef to be adjusted for driving on the left of the road! Turn back the trafic to original!
The left hand drive cars are the problem, when we drive on the left. People should be given a discount on Duty for bringing in right-hand drive cars…
Was intending to speak of older used cars being imported which happen to be used RHD from Japan whose Govt encourages export of these by taxing them heavily in Japan when they reach certain age. This stimulates the Japanese new car market and also manufacturing – so older used cars are sold cheap in Japan and only good for dumping and exporting to 3rd World countries. They add to local congestion through out ari bean Islands and African countries and bring very little import taxes to those countries because value is so low and sometimes under invoiced to pay less duty. So it is good business sense for BVI Govt to increase import taxes imo
thing is here the road traffic direction is built for right hand drive cars. this is the only place i see where your passenger has to exit into on coming traffic with left hand drive. right hand drive. simply open the door and step out onto the pavement.. maybe they should ban right hand guns as well.. lol at the end of the day, its the drivers, not what they driving.
St.Thomas drives on the left with left hand drive vehicles with no problems….I had never seen a right hand drive vehicle on st.thomas yet….NEVER!…Too much doggone island people here PERIOD!
That is a common practice here, regardless of steering wheel location.
some comments are real **** right hand drive is for left side driving
I say ban them all. Ban all right hand drives.
I think you guys have no common sense how can rds that are designed for car with wheel on the right be a problem. And what happens when u go to the usa or st Thomas is the driver driving on his side of the rd.
So truth to what you are saying some of these persons are speaking so non intellectual.i do agree with u I can’t understand how ppl can say driving a left hand drive vehicle on a the left makes sense
Because we have so many hills the left hand drive are the better choice for our country it gives the driver a better gauge of the cliffside edges
Other Caribbean countries with hills that drives on the left with right hand drive experience multiple fatalities in 1 accident most times because the driver miss gauge the edge and falls over the high cliff. Also they drive in the middle of the road having to swerve quickly to their side which causes them to mis judge the edge as well
Guys usa drives on the right using left hank vehicle excepto st Thomas and tortola.
In the U.S, we have left hand drive vehicles and we drive on the right.
In the UK, we have right hand drive vehicles and we drive on the left.
In the BVI, we mostly have left hand drive vehicles and we drive on the left. Hmmm – we are special indeed.
The UK prides itself on being in the top 3 GLOBALLY for road safety and guess what???? In the UK drivers drive on the left and 99% of cars are RIGHT HAND DRIVE. Left hand driven cars on the BVI/USVI left-side roads are a result of importing American cars into a European (English & Danish) Road System.
How about adding a special environmental tax of 4% for vehicle 5 to 9 yrs, 7% for Vehicles 9 to 12 yrs old, a 10% for Vehicles 13 to 16 yrs old and Vehicles older than 16 yrs old 33%..Monies to fix and maintain the Roads..
It is not the vehicle, it is the driver. A good driver can adapt, a bad driver doesn’t care. Too many bad drivers on these roads. And by the way, most of the idiots who cannot keep to the left are driving left hand drive vehicles. For the special idiots out there; a left hand drive vehicle means the driver sits on the left side!
The run down cars and construction equipment coming into the BVI is a problem.
The cars and trucks keep getting bigger and the roads and parking lots stay the same size. Old dump trucks and cement mixers crash or break down every week. am I the only person that noticed this???
Way too many excavators in the BVI for the work that needs to be done. Yet only one road paving machine!
Important some cheap mass transit. Fix the roads. Require adequate parking that takes into account these bigger cars.
The government can regulate this for the benefit of all the people not just a couple of construction people. passing the buck on the issue is not going to fix our problems.
Why we keep having debates about right hand left hand. A man buy what he want. Next debate going be let’s ban KiA souls because it has too much or stop buying American vehicles because they have mechanical issues. Man buy what he wants. People buy what they like point blank.
Jack, you are god’s favourite idiot!
So true, nothing to add.
I was going to make the exact same argument.
Seems folks love the re-invent the wheel in the BVI. And mostly not based on facts and logic. Just opinion
sooner or later a quota will need to be in place for left hand or right hand vehicles….the island is only 24 Sq miles…..
As much as I hate those little ugly right hand drives (not all), especially those with the little mirrors sticking up from the hood, they should not be restricted. The restriction should be based on the age and condition of the cars. And one person should not be able to import several cars either. Some restrictions are certainly needed. Parking is becoming an issue, especially in residential areas.
In the US Virgin Islands they drive left hand drives on the left as well, so I don’t get your point. The BVI spends the US Dollar as a British Territory. I don’t hear anyone complaining about that.
People we drive on the left I don’t understand the debate. All our cars should be right-hand drives. Honestly, it’s a safety issue. Everybody else in the world looks at us and the USVI like we backward.
Shut that big Ole hole u have on your dotish face. Don’t forget it’s the same island ppl build here up and bring you all into the light, u forget it use to be a family sexual affair that was happening here before island ppl and other race came here. You forget is run alyo use to run St. Thomas to make kids because you all did not want to born them in tortola.
Your dotish bad, yes you dotish
Why would you import old cars? makes no darn sense.
Why would you import old cars? makes no darn sense. Ducklyn please