Police must ‘play a bigger role in making laws meaningful’- Hon Rymer
Speaking during a live forum on Facebook yesterday, June 10, 2020, to update the public on what Government is doing to address the issues of motor scooters and to get public feedback, Hon Rymer agreed with a caller that there needs to be more enforcement of the laws already in place.
Where are the police?
“You rightfully said the enforcement needs to play a bigger role in terms of making the laws actually meaningful.
“We have the restriction [on motor scooters & 3 wheel vehicles] in place now and we still seeing scooters beyond that time. Is it that the law enforcement is not paying enough attention? I think that is a conversation we definitely need to have with them,” Hon Rymer remarked.
There is currently a restriction on the movement of three-wheel or less vehicles, which includes motorbikes and scooters, from 5:00 pm to 5:00 am until June 25, 2020. Persons who need to use these types of vehicles within the restricted hours must apply for a pass.
The Minister and former Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) also said police needs to come up with different ways to tackle the violators other than chasing them through the streets.
“And there is no need to go out there and chase a motorcycle. We are a small community, we have two major roads, a few tributaries, I think a few roadblocks like you mentioned and you must capture those persons who are not lawful going through one of the checkpoints.
“That is a simple issue that can be solved right there in terms of knowing who is legal and who is not.”
Be responsible parents
Hon Rymer also appealed to parents to be more responsible and consider the laws in place when thinking of getting a motor scooter for their children, including the legal age for being a licenced rider.
“Your child under the age of 16 should not be on a scooter, should not be on a motor scooter,” Hon Rymer implored, adding that he understands parents may want to buy a motor scooter for their child as a gift “but we have laws to follow.”
“We see where we have younger persons riding motor scooters and not even with a helmet,” he added.
Persons must be at least 16 years of age to be eligible for a motor scooter licence in the Territory.
Campaign to license & insure riders
Meanwhile, Hon Rymer said his Ministry is on a campaign to dialogue with riders, to educate them on the laws and to get them licensed and insured.
“Hopefully by next week, by the end of this restricted time, we want to ensure that we license about 300 or 400 riders,” Hon Rymer said.
Noting that one motor scooter vendor said he sold about 1000 motor scooters over the last couple of years, Hon Rymer noted that there are only some 226 licensed bikes in the Territory, 168 of which are on Tortola.
“And you see the number of bikes on the road,” Hon Rymer exclaimed, adding that it is just $35 to license a register a motorcycle in the Territory.
Further, he said he has been reaching out to insurance agencies for more affordable rates for insurance on motor scooters and so far one company is looking at offering $175 for a year’s insurance.
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34 Responses to “Police must ‘play a bigger role in making laws meaningful’- Hon Rymer”
How in diy kingdom can licensing a non protective machine on the roadway be so inexpensive. Check NHI, for the last motorcycle accident cost. Not good enough!!
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Asking for clarification!
thanks