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Amendment To Road Traffic Act Coming Which Requires Five Year Old Vehicles To Be Inspected

Earlier this month Prime Minister Fruendel Stuart in a speech to launch the Barbados Road Safety Council remarked that changes to the Road Traffic Amendment Act will be debated soon in the House of Assembly. In his delivery, he mentioned “issues such as breathalyser testing, procedures relating to writing off vehicles and frequent inspection of…

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2005 Toyota Corolla

Earlier this month Prime Minister Fruendel Stuart in a speech to launch the Barbados Road Safety Council remarked that changes to the Road Traffic Amendment Act will be debated soon in the House of Assembly. In his delivery, he mentioned “issues such as breathalyser testing, procedures relating to writing off vehicles and frequent inspection of vehicles.” Although on the surface the proposed changes seem harmless, media announcements promoting the amendments to the Act in recent days suggest that vehicles will have to undergo a 5 year inspection. In the absence of a rationale for the 5 year time period to be embedded in the Road Traffic Act, one is left to wonder what manner of madness is this.

The obvious conclusion to draw is that government is once again responding to a lobby by new car dealers. It is no secret the number of new car sales has declined in the last 3 years or so. A system which requires inspection after 5 years creates an opportunity to force those who own vehicles 5+ years to make the leap to a new car sooner rather than later.

The current discussion is a reminder of the rise and fall of the used car sector commonly referred to as ‘recondition cars’. Many Barbadians were able to afford a decent car at a reasonable price until the new car dealership lobby and questionable invoicing practices by a few in the used car industry saw its demise.

Many Barbadians are left to wonder why government has taken the decision to make law the need to have a vehicle undergo a 5 year inspection.

158 responses to “Amendment To Road Traffic Act Coming Which Requires Five Year Old Vehicles To Be Inspected”

  1. islandgal246 Avatar
    islandgal246

    @Rubes “barbados could use some sort of alcohol control laws for drivers,.too many brits getting plastered and going out in hire vehicles on roads they dont really know.”

    Ruby baby, it isn’t only Tourist driving drunk, many are homegrown morons. I can’t remember reading about drunk Tourist being charged here, Have you?

  2. David Avatar
    David

    With the implementation of Breathalyzer our policemen will come under the microscope!

  3. Amused Avatar
    Amused

    @Hants. I know and confirm what you have said about the situation in Canada. Contrast this to the situation in the UK. A drivers license is issued once and you pay for it once and your license is issued with an expiry date of your 70th birthday. You do not renew it every year as you do in Canada and Barbados and have to pay for it. Once a driver reaches the age of 70, they reapply and are issued a license for three years and this must be renewed every three years thereafter. If you change address, you are required to fill in a form and send it to the licensing authority and, without any payment on your part, they issue you a new license with your address changed. Until you are 70. In the UK, your tax disk costs (as I have been able to ascertain) are £215 per year. The yearly MOT Certificate, without which you cannot either get insurance or a tax disk, costs about £35, unless you need to have repairs done to make your car conform.

    @Islandgal. As always, right on target. Imagine, successive governments have failed to keep the roads repaired (even in times of economic well-being as with the Arthur government when they hit an all time low – the roads that is – and only the cricket world cup made them fix them) and these roads destroy the cars and, having created the majority of the problems for a body’s car, they now intend to cash in on the destruction that they have caused to our cars.Usurious!!! And let me tell you that if this government is replaced at the next election, then look for the new government to try the same damned thing.

    So it seems that the idea is to copy the examples of other larger countries no matter how inappropriate to Barbados, ONLY where convenient and lucrative for certain select bodies.

    @millertheanunnaki | March 16, 2012 at 9:26 AM. Why the tone of surprise? Yes I do have such liberal views as far as a toke of the weed goes and am on the record here on BU as saying as much. I enjoy a toke of weed from time to time, as long as I have a pitcher of OJ, nuff crisps and an iced cake to hand. I want to see weed legalized. As I have previously pointed out here, however, chances of that happening are not good as you can grow it in your garden, praedial larceny permitting, and government will be hard put to finding a way to tax it.

  4. Random Thoughts Avatar
    Random Thoughts

    Quoting David | March 16, 2012 at 11:49 AM | “With the implementation of Breathalyzer our policemen will come under the microscope!”

    And that would be an excellent thing.

    And I enjoy a strong drink as much as the next person, but I know my limit 2 in any 24 hour period, with at least 2 hours between each drink and I never go past that unless I am at home and plan to stay there.

    I have every right to enjoy my strong drinks, but I have no right to drive while impaired by alcohol or anything else.

  5. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    Amused wrote “I enjoy a toke of weed from time to time.”

    Then you fall asleep and wake up later with the munchies.

    Meanwhile the fellas will drink (legally) 6 beers and want to lick down somebody.

    Therein lies my belief. Weed safer than booze.

    Unfortunately I still living dangerously and continue to walk with Johnny or his other scottish brothers.

  6. Amused Avatar
    Amused

    @Random Thoughts | March 16, 2012 at 10:59 AM. SWMBO also enjoys a drink on social occasions and the thought of having to restrict a person, even SWMBO, to be a designated driver is anti-social in Barbados. In any event, drunkeness hits different people at different levels of consumption. When I go to Cattlewash pon a Sunday, I fire down, in the course of the day, maybe three or four rums. And I am not drunk. But that amount, under the breathalyser conditions, is sufficient to make me liable for drunken driving. When the breathalyser first came in in Sweden, it was challenged in court by a lady who, in front of the judge, drank a bottle of sherry and then passed 100% every test set her to show whether she was sober – other than the breathalyser and a blood test. I do not believe that a measurement of blood alcohol is just. I believe that the test should be whether or not a person is too incapable and incapacitated to be in control of a motor vehicle, at least in Barbados where, with few exceptions, the speed limit is 30. As for the argument that Canada has followed the USA in the matter of speed limits to make it easier on motorists from either country driving in the other, I would point out that the speed limit in Europe is higher in most countries that in the UK and in Germany on the motorway, there is no speed limit…….and with ferries and the chunnel, commuting from country to country is the norm. But presumably the difference is that drivers in the EU, unlike those in North America, can actually read (and do read) traffic signs, even though they are in a language other than their own. Go figure.

  7. Amused Avatar
    Amused

    @Hants | March 16, 2012 at 12:26 PM | No sleep, just the munchies. I agree that weed is safer than booze, but problem is that Chris and Owen before him cannot find a way to tax it and, if it cannot be taxed, it gotta be illegal. And thereby gives rise to a lot of drug cartels who otherwise would be out of a job. BTW, I too like the Scottish gentlemen like Johnnie and also Messrs Scott and McKay as well. I have even been known to be a Beefeater. But, man, my preference is XO and ginger. Taste too sweet.

  8. John Avatar
    John

    David | March 16, 2012 at 10:52 AM |

    @John

    With all the moving parts you have listed would the 5 year inspection checklist these items?
    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    …. and here is where technology will amaze you!!

    Much of the inspection can be done by satellite!!

  9. Random Thoughts Avatar
    Random Thoughts

    Is this 5 year inspection intended purely as a tax raising measure; or as a measure to save lives and limbs? And would such inspection have saved the life of the young man who died fore-day morning this past Sunday (apparently thrown from the vehicle) or would a fastened seat belt have saved him?

    Would a 5 year inspection have saved the life of the motorcyclist who was in a collision with a car last week?

    Would a five year inspection have saved the life of the pedestrian legal clerk who died in Bridgetown this week?

    Would a 5 year inspection have prevented or minimised the effects of the mini-bus accident in St. George yesterday? Wasn’t that bus inspected less than a year ago?

    I think that sensibly we need to discover what is causing the loss of lives and limbs on the roads in Barbados and then we need to fix those things But I expect that since Bajans are as fully human (no less human, no more human) as people anywhere and as likely to get drunk on alcohol then I expect that drunken driving is implicated in a lot of our accidents. And also that failure to wear seatbelts is implicated in a lot of the serious injuries and deaths on the road.

    But looka our government is coming up with some silly tax raising measure which is unlikely to reduce the morbidity or mortality on our roads.

    Would breathlyzers help?

    Would seatbelts help?

    Would child safety seats help?

    Would better lighting help?

    Would more and better side-walks by separating pedestrians from motor vehicles help?

    Would more and better enforcement by the police help?

    Would public education campaigns about the use of seat belts, child seats, no drinking and driving help, and proper use of sidewalks help?

    Would it help if we had more traffic policemen?

    Would it help if the policemen were out in force on the roads on Friday, Saturday and Sunday fore-day mornings, pulling impaired drivers off the road and calling family members to pick up the obviously impaired drivers?

    But instead we plan to pass another foolish law, as though foolish laws fix anything.

    Maybe because we have a Parliament fulla lawyers they genuinely believe that annuder law will fix a lotta bad things.

    I have a good friend. Very smart guy, not of course a lawyer, he tells me all the time if the only tool a man knows is a hammer then he sees every problem as a nail. Hit it and hit it and hit it until it disappears.

    Sometimes I feel so sad for my country. So very, very sad.

    One of our sons or daughters will be killed on the road this weekend. Will he or she be my son or your daughter?

  10. ac Avatar
    ac

    For lack of vision the people shall suffer.

  11. John Avatar
    John

    … by satellite … exists already

    http://www.onstar.com/web/portal/landing

    …. and if you want to apply the breathalyzer easily here is a thought.

    http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&sugexp=frgbld&gs_nf=1&cp=13&gs_id=1g&xhr=t&q=breathalyzer+reviews&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&biw=1366&bih=673&wrapid=tljp1331916727057024&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=8347982017901247660&sa=X&ei=ym9jT_W3OYfk0QHSjsG9CA&sqi=2&ved=0CEgQ8wIwBQ#

    It is possible to let the onboard computer decide if to let a person with an elevated blood alcohol level even start the car …. far less drive!!!

    The days of police pulling drivers over to test their levels may soon become a thing of the past.

    …. not likely you will find such a control system in an old fishtail Cambridge.

  12. John Avatar
    John

    http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=1623201n

  13. David Avatar
    David

    Let us hope the debate in the House which is promised will ensure the proposed amendment is thoroughly reviewed and adjustments made.

  14. Random Thoughts Avatar
    Random Thoughts

    And Bajans used to be such sensible people.

    What happened?

  15. Random Thoughts Avatar
    Random Thoughts

    Aren’t most traffic injuries caused by human failure and human error?

  16. Random Thoughts Avatar
    Random Thoughts

    Dear Amused:

    Is there a 4,000 mile land border between the U.K and any of its European neighbours?

  17. islandgal246 Avatar
    islandgal246

    How many “Old” cars on the roads get into accidents? Many of the accidents I see involve fairly recent model cars and BUSES. The government now feel that they can be more effective by penalizing the cars and not the drivers.

    “And Bajans used to be such sensible people.

    What happened?”

  18. Amused Avatar
    Amused

    @Random Thoughts | March 16, 2012 at 2:27 PM. “Is there a 4,000 mile land border between the U.K and any of its European neighbours?”

    And this matters HOW? You go on a ferry or the Chunnel to France where, believe it or not, they speak French – therefore the signs are in EU symbols and the language is, peculiarly, in French, except the speed limits, which are listed in numerals, like 60, except you have read about driving in France and mainland Europe and you know it is kph and not mph – so you look at the inner dial on your car where the speeds are listed clearly in kph. Then there is Germany, Spain and, as an example, Italy where the same signs have, for instance, a symbol that you recognise as being one way, except it says Senza Unico. But strangely, you know that this must mean one way, maybe because of the symbol. And there is Denmark, where for some strange reason the signs are in Danish, etc. BUT, as you have driven from England, you have to remember that once you get to mainland Europe, that you must drive on the right hand side of the road and not the left – and vice versa for those mainland European drivers who drive in the UK. It takes a degree of concentration that you, as a driver, should be exhibiting in any case. So, I repeat, and the answer to your question matters HOW?

    @Islandgal. As always, a pleasure and, as always, undeniable, irrefutable common sense.

  19. Colonel Buggy Avatar
    Colonel Buggy

    David | March 16, 2012 at 10:52 AM |
    @John

    With all the moving parts you have listed would the 5 year inspection checklist these items?
    *****************************************************************************************
    None of these parts mentioned will be inspected,although the failure or malfunction of anyone may affect a system overall, eg Lighting or fuel management.
    Basically the inspection is a Roadworthiness Inspection, and is not as in depth as an operator’s Preventive Maintenance Inspection.
    The Systems under scrutiny are
    (a) Brakes (b) Steering (C) Exhaust (d) Electrics-(Lighting/horn/wipers) (e) Tyres and Suspension

  20. David Avatar
    David

    @Colonel Buggy

    Your last comment debunks the point John made about modern cards having several moving parts if the 5 year check is to be a road worthiness check only. This is the point which must be made.

  21. Wily Coyote Avatar
    Wily Coyote

    Don’t worry, it’s just another Barbadian Rule that won’t be enforced, 50 cents under the table will keep your old clunker on the road, the 17.5% VAT however will help bail out the governments sorry financial state.

  22. ac Avatar
    ac

    the same arguments have been said and tried in different regions after all these laws are a preventive measure against having more clonkers and cars that emit high levels of pollutants in the atmosphere which is contributing to greenhouses gases and global warming. i meaning isn’t prevention better than cure . we all would like to believe that “everyone ” takes good care of their care but their are studies that prove other wise due in part to high maintenance cost to the individual . i think that we all would like to live in a cleaner and healthier and safer enviroment and safety checks on cars is one of the ways about doing so.

  23. millertheanunnaki Avatar
    millertheanunnaki

    @ac | March 16, 2012 at 6:19 PM |
    “.. having more clonkers and cars that emit high levels of pollutants in the atmosphere which is contributing to greenhouses gases and global warming…” “i think that we all would like to live in a cleaner and healthier and safer environment….”

    Yet you can see nothing wrong with burning tons of plastics and animal offal in the centre of a small island to destroy the West Coast Tourism.
    So much for parading your green credentials with a lot of hot air talk; just like your hero. Why is the government still acquiring oversized engine vehicles for the parasitic bureaucrats and politically appointed officials for such a small and getting poorer country with deteriorating mule cart lanes for roads? Why is there a need to import vehicles with engine capacities in excess of 2, 000 cc’s or 2 ltr for bureaucrats to drive around in at donkey cart speed, and at grid lock peak times, at snail pace in a 2×2 little flat coral island in the Tropics wasting imported expensive petrol and diesel and adding more pollution to the atmosphere that you so correctly pointed out is causing real damage to the environment.

  24. islandgal246 Avatar
    islandgal246

    AC….??? Yuh dere? Why you does mek statments that you cahn support? I know dat yuh is a STRONG DLP but dat shud not stop yuh from tinking strait. Gurl chile I is yuh frien BUT pluzze ack as eff yuh got nuff sensability yuh hear? Ah doan like when people like Miller corner yuh and yuh cahn hide. Miller give she a break nuh, excuse she fuh muh. AC eff yuh open yuh mout once more I got de muzzle here fuh yuh, yuh hear?

  25. John Avatar
    John

    I think the older cars belong to the older people who invest time and money in maintaining and holding on to their investment.

    In truth the money value of a car falls as soon as it is driven out of the showroom and it cannot be looked at as an investment in financial terms.

    Dependability and predictability are the true measures that determine how good an investment has been made.

    Knowing when you get in the car it will start and get you anywhere safely is more important than the money value of the car.

    The more advanced the technology and the more parts that determine how it works the more likely there is to be a failure.

    Those parts don’t necessarily move.

    A circuit board controlling the opening and closing of a window, or door can be rendered useless if water can get into its environs and corrode tracks.

    The circuit board does not move a millimetre, but it’s failure might mean a door will not open!!!

    I have seen two diodes on a circuit board prevent the “trunk” on an suv from opening.

    That would be unthinkable in an older model.

    Inspection for the advanced control systems in cars is not only looking at tyres/suspension, lights, horn etc. which is adequate for the older cars.

    If longevity is required an awareness of for example the existence of the threats the environment poses to components might very well make the difference between having a car at four or five years with a door that won’t open or a window that won’t go up or down … or an alarm that comes on intermittently and defeats the efforts to diagnose of even the best mechanics.

    It is no longer simple mechanical systems which the average mechanic can see move and understand how they work that determine a car’s functionality.

    That for me is the reason for an extra inspection for newer cars, …. simply to keep them working optimally.

    … and that is in the interest of the owner and much of it can be done remotely …. through the ether!!

    Manufacturers will have recommendations.

    Cars nowadays run on unseen data streams …. as well as fuel, oil and water/coolant!!

    Interrupt the data streams and it will shutdown.

  26. islandgal246 Avatar
    islandgal246

    John does that mean that the government is capable of inspecting new cars? Do they have the tools to do this? Do they have the personnel to carry out these inspections? Or are they using the illiterate antiques at MTW who wouldn’t know how to read a modern car’s dashboard ?

  27. Colonel Buggy Avatar
    Colonel Buggy

    The Ministry of Transport (MOT)Inspection is not intended to be a Preventive Maintenance Inspection. The owner and his /her Mechanic /repair facility is responsible for ensuring that those circuit board etc ,and other electronic control systems are functioning properly.

  28. Colonel Buggy Avatar
    Colonel Buggy

    islandgal246 | March 16, 2012 at 8:24 PM |
    John does that mean that the government is capable of inspecting new cars? Do they have the tools to do this? Do they have the personnel to carry out these inspections? Or are they using the illiterate antiques at MTW who wouldn’t know how to read a modern car’s dashboard ?
    *************************************************************************************
    This is the typical Bajan way of thinking. If you are a Tradesman or Technician then you must be semi illiterate. Many young men who have been to what we refer to as the older secondary schools, have completed apprenticeships at SJPP, and may well be among those Inspectors at MTW. What is this thing about an Inspector being able to read a modern car’s dashboard? The spread of misinformation seems to be the order of the day here.

  29. ac Avatar
    ac

    To all the political gymnast sorry to rock your trampoline but scientific studies have been done to support what it said in my comment whether B or D disagrees! Miller in his effervescent and know it all would want to challenge my comments through a political lens but Studies would differ with his point of view for a cleaner environment.If miller stays abreast of the challenges the environment has had to deal with he would be happy to see that governments are tackling problems that are wrecking havoc on the environments all this political gymnastics is just another way of downplaying the efforts by environmentalist and governments worldwide who have seen studies are are convinced that a cleaner environment would be of beneficial to all. i meaning on the environment political ideologies should not stand in the way of what is right or best for the environment

  30. ac Avatar
    ac

    @ island girl
    The topic “I THINK” is on Car inspection to the best of my limited knowledege but i stand corrected!

  31. islandgal246 Avatar
    islandgal246

    Colonel “may well be among those Inspectors at MTW. What is this thing about an Inspector being able to read a modern car’s dashboard?”

    Have you been up to MTW lately? They are still struggling to cope with their computers and the wait can be hours. Many times you go there their computers are down or they cannot find your file. It is getting better but it is like molasses on cold winter’s day going uphill.

  32. John Avatar
    John

    If you think about it, foreign exchange is what brings the cars here and foreign exchange is what keeps them working … parts, fluids etc.

    The higher the level of sophistication the more foreign exchange is required.

    It may make perfect sense for GOB to insist that the forign exchange allocated to the transport sector is used optimally and what better way than to force the preventative maintenance aspect of car care.

    SJPP has since the late 1990’s had an autotronics department which turns out people who know what to do and find work in garages. I doubt the problem is the supply of people with the technical background to make it work.

    Rather it is the average car owner who does not have a clue what goes on around him/her in the car he/she drives and lacks the interest and/or technical sophistication to learn.

    The value of the level and type of preventative maintenance required to keep a modern car working optimally for as long a time as possible cannot be emphasised enough.

    Foreign exchange does not grow on trees and it seems reasonable to get as big a bang for the buck for as long as possible!!

    I suspect that unlike the old fishtail Cambridge which has enjoyed such a long life in Barbados because of its mechanical simplicity that most modern models will rapidly end up on the junk heap as intermittent faults appear with age.

  33. Enuff Avatar
    Enuff

    @ ac
    What cleaner environment what!!! You, like this government, are about sound bytes and PR.
    Not only is this government promoting the waste to energy plant as Miller reminded you,but the development at Coverley is also not in keeping with good environmental practice given the unsustainable use of land and foolishness about having to get permission from NHC to erect a clothesline while equipping houses with natural gas dryers. Why is there no alternative energy component at Coverley or any of government’s big housing projects? Stupse

  34. ac Avatar
    ac

    So what is wrong with the waste to engery plant sounds like it would save the consumers money along with not causing harm to the enviromentBTW what policies did the BLP implement in their 14years that was of significant benefit to clean air..i believe that the have some kind of foo foo plant than burns waste and regurgeates pollunts and foul air in the atmosphere.

  35. David Avatar
    David

    Here we go again, did the BLP do this, has the DLP done that, no wonder…

  36. Random Thoughts Avatar
    Random Thoughts

    Quoting Amused at 3:22 16 March, 2012 “You go on a ferry or the Chunnel to France where, believe it or not, they speak French”

    Thank you for teaching me that French people speak French.

    When you have to time please tell me whether this is correct” 1 + 1=2

    Whether or not you try to make me look like an idiot, when all is said and done I am not an idiot.

    Very likely most traffic morbidity and mortality are cause by human failures, including the failure to recognize one’s impairment caused by drinking too much alcohol.

    But Barbados is ruled by pompous legal idiots (both parties and many of them very like Amused) who believe that traffic injuries and deaths can be reduced without the use of sound scientifically proven strategies such as breathylyzer legislation and enforcement.

    These pompous legal idiots, both parties, cannot even learn when their own legal friends suffer and die prematurely because of alcohol abuse.

  37. Random Thoughts Avatar
    Random Thoughts

    Just a few years ago we had a Cabinet Minister talking about accidents being caused because people fall asleep at the wheel. Clearly the Minister did not want to believe that people have accidents because they are drunk.

    But people have accidents because they are drunk whether or not the former Minister or Amused believe this.

    I did not believe the Minister as many years previously I had had the misfortune to be trapped beside him on an aircraft for 5 hours. I was only a youth then but when he gave me his number and asked me to call even then I had enough sense never to call him. Having to sit beside him and listen to him for 5 hours taught me that enough is more than enough.

  38. Random Thoughts Avatar
    Random Thoughts

    Quoting David | March 17, 2012 at 11:31 AM | “Here we go again, did the BLP do this, has the DLP done that, no wonder…”

    Dear David: BOTH the DLP and the BLP have failed to enact legislation which will permit the police to get drunks off d’ road.

    Both parties have failed the people of Barbados.

    They have especially failed those of us who have lost family and friends to drunken drivers.

    But look around you David, neither party recognizes or does anything to help their own drunken members.

    They let them die. If they don’t care about party members you think that care about young mothers who lose their child fathers? You think they care about 3 year old boys and girls who lose their daddies.

    3 year olds don’t vote for the BLP or the DLP David.

    3 year olds don’t give money to the DLP or the BLP.

    3 year olds don’t get invited to Prime Ministerial dinner tables…nor to the dinner table of the Leader of the Opposition.

    3 year olds are treated like lepers, or worse like nobodies.

    Nobody give’s an rass how many 3 year old lose their daddies, as long as the old legal men can continue to drink and drive coming home from Cattle wash, or Bathsheba or the bar on weekends.

  39. Enuff Avatar
    Enuff

    @ ac
    “Clean air”? As I said sound bytes and catch phrases.
    How the hell can you be talking about waste to energy and clean air in the same breath? A government that can’t build two roundabouts want to build and operate a facility as potentially dangerous as an incinerator on a 166 sq m island. Good luck.

  40. ac Avatar
    ac

    What proof do Enuff have that would substantiate that converting waste to engery is harmful to the enviroment.or would you and the B LP would prefer to continue to use fuel at skyrocketing and uncontrollable prices .the DLP is not out of sync with reality and proceeding to use waste as asource of energy is a worthwhile venture.As well as cost efficient to the consumer who is at present consuming energy through fuel and fiossilwhich is costing them an exhorbitant amount of money.

  41. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    The price of vehicles in Barbados is outrageous.
    2011 BMW X1 $200,000.

    Canada.
    Brand new 2012 BMW X1 xDrive 28i CAD$46,340.00 (BDS $90,000)

  42. millertheanunnaki Avatar
    millertheanunnaki

    ac | March 16, 2012 at 8:52 PM |
    “Miller in his effervescent and know it all would want to challenge my comments through a political lens but Studies would differ with his point of view for a cleaner environment.If miller stays abreast of the challenges the environment has had to deal with he would be happy to see that governments are tackling problems that are wrecking havoc on the environments … ”

    Your barbs will not deter me from cornering and denuding you for all the BU crowd to see. My mission is to expose and attack hypocrisy, double standards and falsehoods. But I will take islandgal’s plea of compassion and would go easy on you and instead of injecting you with some truth serum I would try to indoctrinate you with knowledge and enlightenment.
    One must always try to be a ‘know-it-all’ if one wants to be an intellectual vampire slayer to deal with political commentators who can see out of one eye only and operate under the guise of darkness and not light. You, “ac”, must sometimes switch to a ‘dc’ mode of communication for the sake of a balance flow of ideas, knowledge and fact to energize discussion and debate especially on political topics. Your psychotic mindset when it comes to OSA can only be rivaled by CCC. You display all the signs of a person so hurt by another person in a love affair that she or he dwells so much in the 14 years of goodness that she (to be pronoun specific) is unable to move forward to deal with today’s challenges of life.
    So if you find it difficult for us to take your concerns about the environment seriously don’t be surprised. Now tell us how can you be a supporter of the “Green Movement” and still want to offer old and dangerous technological solutions to this country’s refuse and rubbish problems? The three “R’s” (Reduce, Reuse, Re-cycle) before Refuse ought to be at the bedrock of this educational thrust of ‘going green’. So for you to come here and peddle the burning of rubbish- to produce energy for re-use to feed further conspicuous consumption- without comparing the high costs that will be incurred through the bi-products of toxins and exceedingly dangerous chemicals is once more worthy of exposure and the stripping of your self-awarded green credentials.
    Now I have always peddle the use of solar energy in our type of tropical environment 13.9 or so degrees latitude north of the Equator. I have also called for these panels to be strategically placed on the roofs and sun rays receiving sides of nearly all public and private sector commercial buildings in order to be the primary source of energy generation for air conditioning (cooling) and lighting for the workplaces.
    Such a move would reflect the much needed paradigm shift for our economic survival by not only saving forex in the importation of finished petroleum products used to generate electricity but also as a stimulus to the further development of the local solar energy product manufacturing and servicing industry.

    Now compare that stance taken above with yours which seek to rubbish the attractiveness of the solar solution as a major player in the alternative energy tank as opposed to your much touted burning solution. Now which option or solution appears to have more carbon credits to trade? Burning bush, plastic and refuse to full up the asthma bays at the hospitals? Or take stellar advantage of the natural benefits-with very little long-term costs and consequences- of our God’s everlasting rays and blessings?

  43. David Avatar
    David

    @Hants

    Given the high cost of vehicles in Barbados it belies explanation the fact that 130,000 of them travel our roads.

  44. Enuff Avatar
    Enuff

    @ ac

    “What proof do Enuff have that would substantiate that converting waste to energy is harmful to the environment.”

    Acid rain, fly ash and many other pollutants. Further proof that you are clueless.

  45. millertheanunnaki Avatar
    millertheanunnaki

    @ ac | March 17, 2012 at 2:45 PM |
    “What proof do Enuff have that would substantiate that converting waste to energy is harmful to the environment.”

    Well, tell us “ac”! We have an idea where the ash and residue (physical remains) end up but what happens to the smoke and gaseous bi-products that are emitted from the burning process? Please enlighten us, both BLP & DLP readers. If you do I would let you know the real reason behind the lowe man propaganda mission to sell the need for a study into waste to energy just like the sale of a CLICO EFPA.

  46. ac Avatar
    ac

    @ enuff
    Can you name any Waste to energy plant that has cause acid rain or any other pollutant? Have you ever visited a Waste to energy plant? do you know any of the rules or guidelines that are enforced that must be met in compliance in order for a waste to energy plant to be operable. i suggest you do research before you come up in here spouting BLP propaganda because you don’t really know of what you speak. I would tell you that your car gives off more pollutants than any waste to energy plant.The fact are that they are a safer source of energy than nuclear plants and cast less to generate than fuel since the product which generates the electricity are everday reusable items.

  47. David Avatar
    David

    This is a circular argument. There is no conclusive evidence that waste to energy emissions is as safe as we would hope.

  48. ac Avatar
    ac

    @ miller

    Have you ever heard of a flue gas cleaning system . well go do some research as obvious you have plenty time time on your hand and instead of blowing BLP propaganda you will be enlightened as how this system works in preventing poisionous gases for emitting into the atmosphere.

  49. Rambling Rose Avatar
    Rambling Rose

    SMASH UP –ST, LAWERENCE GAP

  50. David Avatar
    David

    Yet another ZR accident.

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