Proposed law seeks to raise scooter riding age to 18
A new law has been proposed in the BVI to raise the legal age for riding scooters from 16 to 18 years. Acting Commissioner of Police Jacqueline Vanterpool confirmed the amendment as part of efforts to tackle scooter-related crime and public nuisance.
Speaking on the Talking Points radio programme, Vanterpool said officials put forward several amendments to the Road Traffic Act.
“One of the areas we were looking at was to amend the age from age 16 to 18. So in order to ride a scooter, you have to be at the age of 18 years and no longer 16 years.”
Vanterpool explained that many of the scooters confiscated by police are involved in criminal activity or are illegally modified. “The challenge that we have is that when we pick them up, they pile up in the Road Town police station,” Vanterpool said. “So this year, I made a decision… the smaller bikes, we crush them.”
The Acting Commissioner explained that the police force has been crushing unlicensed and smaller scooters to prevent them from returning to the roads, while larger bikes are being placed on the auction block.
The BVI has long faced complaints from residents about scooter riders disrupting the peace, particularly on Sundays. Vanterpool acknowledged the issue and said many of the scooters that are on the BVI’s roads are ‘make-up bikes’, often put together from stolen parts.
The proposed change to the Road Traffic Act is expected to be debated in the House of Assembly later this year. The conversation around raising the riding age has been ongoing since at least 2023, following a series of high-profile scooter-related accidents and law enforcement crackdowns.
Junior Minister for Financial Services, Lorna Smith, previously made a public appeal to a former Governor and Police Commissioner to address the issue, describing the noise caused by nightly scooter drag racers as an “unbearable assault” on residents’ ears, especially those living along Road Town and McNamara‑to‑Sea Cow’s Bay drive.
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Great , but without enforcement it has no meaning.
Get UK constables in here on 6 month rotation like the Dutch do. Only then can we have unbiased enforcement.
Will the police enforce it? Just more uninsured riders racing the police.
Many of these scooter riders simply drive recklessly on the public roads. Some overtake carelessly around corners and drive in and out of traffic unsafely. Stiff fines need to be put in place to address reckless drivers.
Many also are driving without proper head gear. That too needs to be addressed. Riding later at night with noisy bikes needs to be outlawed.
Insurance is a must, and there should be a requirement that riders are covered for a certain amount of damages should they be involved in an accident.
Apart from any criminality these riders are involved in, too many have died or have been injured in accidents. Many of them are probably a burden to the health care system from a financial standpoint, and should be required to have medical insurance before issuing the privileges to drive a scooter.
In my view, all scooter drivers should be mandated to take a road safety course before they can obtain a drivers license and required every time they seek renewal.
Any violation of the traffic laws should result in some consequences leading up to the suspension of driving privileges.
That could include a point system whereby traffic infractions are scored and deducted from a drivers overall record that could lead to suspension of driving privileges.
If their score drop beyond a certain point, then not only is suspension of their driving privileges be automatic, but passing a required safety driving class prior to the restoration of their drivers license is a prudent step.
In my view, increasing the driving age from 16 to 18 does not go far enough as it assumes an older aged person will drive more responsibly which is not guaranteed, and does not address the recklessness and criminal behavior of some of these drivers.
The grave yard is filling up with these riders and the hospital staff has had more than their fair share of treating the injured.
It’s time to get serious here, and stop playing around with these scooter riders. This is a public health issue. Too many have died or been injured on these bikes. Too many have been alleged to be involved in criminal activity using these bikes as getaways.
In my view, if you are going to attempt to address the problem, do so with meaningful and impactful. Increasing the age limit by two years will simply not be enough to combat the problem with these scooter riders.
Scooters are one thing. When are the police going to crackdown on unlicensed cars. I see vehicles driving everyday with expired stickers. Every year the colours of the stickers change but you clearly see some with stickers from the previous year.
Why don’t this government do the meaningful concerning raising the minimum wage and giving retires a cost of living adjustment to their measely pensions?? Yes, their are many things this governmemt needs to look at, but they have a way of making the least important things the most important. Any distraction to take away doing the things that positively impact people lives. When is this going to change????
You are correct that the government should do more, and they do try to make pointless nonsense important.
This article, however, is specifically about scooters, and you are saying people, some of them kids, getting killed or injured in accidents is the least important thing.
That isn’t something a ‘bishop’ or even a decent person should be saying. Unless you are lucifer’s bish.
Well i mean i does be seeing dudes who look like them 12-15 on bikes mostly east end sometimes town. i dont think this will do much unless there’s constant enforcement.
lets be honest scooter riders break laws bold face everyday so wa going stop them from waiting until 18 to ride scooter lol. not them. watch aya daughters!
ban scooter from being sold to underage riders. must sell to an adult then if they are caught or seen driven by a minor………….charge the adult who bought it a heavy fine! then use that fine to free andrew fahie lmfaooo since aya love he so much
Mandate under 18 have to take a training class to be licenced for scooters or cars. Next, ban the import of gas powered scooters (switch to electric)
The BVI is a funny place where seatbelts are enforced but helmets aren’t.
Problem Solved.
You are welcome.
Practically all of the police are already foreign. You see black people and think they are Local officers. The majority of those people come from away as police to make money and status quickly in the BVI.