The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune

Having just licensed three vehicles this week, I suddenly realized why there has been such an outcry about people driving uninsured vehicles. I can’t remember what year it was that we changed from all vehicles being licensed in March each year, but that was the start of the problem with unlicensed vehicles. I had one vehicle with its insurance year ending in November, when the car was purchased, another ending in July, when it was purchased, and yet another ending in a few days from now.

Why, one might ask, did the Attorney General of the day, not think to mandate (in law) that a vehicle’s insurance MUST coincide with the licence year of the vehicle, which is itself tied to the birth month of the owner, for private vehicles anyway. How hard would that have been? So now I have a licensed vehicle with its insurance expiring on 8th March 2020, but the licence doesn’t expire until Feb 28th 2021. If I choose not to renew the insurance, I can take the chance and just coast until next year. And hope I don’t run into anyone or get stopped by the cops.

Can the powers that be not sort this out now, so we can end the chaos. Change the law if needed, but also mandate that the insurance cannot be cancelled unless the vehicle is sold or satisfactory evidence provided that the vehicle is no longer on the road. The insurers can very easily prorate the premium, and the mandate should also be to cover the vehicle to end of the owner’s next birthday month.

I was delighted to hear the Minister saying that vehicle licensing would soon be exclusively credit/debit card based. And he expected higher revenues, so I imagine he is anticipating that more vehicles will be licensed when this happens!

MONKEEDO

Nassau,

February 21, 2020.