Falklands : Public Meeting Report (25 July 2006)
Submitted by Falkland Islands News Network (Juanita Brock) 26.07.2006 (Article Archived on 09.08.2006)
Find out what happenedduring this lively session with the public.
PUBLIC MEETING: TUESDAY, 25 JULY 2006
By J. Brock (FINN)
A public meeting took place in the Court and Council Chamber of the Town Hall at 1700 hrs on Tuesday, 25 July 2006. Present were Cllrs. Cockwell (Chair), Stevens, Summers, Hansen, Davies, Clausen and Rendell. The Attorney General Mr. David Lang QC also was in attendance. Approximately 40 members of the public also attended.
This month’s subject was the Road Traffic Bill. Cllr Cockwell began by asking about farmers without licence or insurance driving on their land and crossing designated roads. Cllr Clausen mentioned that the RBA could provide data on tractors but that all vehicles needed to be listed so that insurance companies can pass on quotes. There were no objections to this as long as people had insurance cover of some sort in accordance with the policy.
Deciding that a motorcycle could have up to four wheels and that you had to wear protective head gear was next discussed, with the public debating adults wearing helmets while riding them. The comment was made that cycling was a healthy activity and that wearing helmets simply made it a less attractive outdoor activity. A member of the public said that leadership must be by example and if all people were required to wear helmets while on bicycles then the children would get used to it.
Parking on pavements and grass verges was also discussed with the comment being that it should be banned except on places like Pioneer Row, Drury Street and Racecourse Road, where people wanted to park outside their properties. Activities like that on Remembrance Sunday at the Cross of Sacrifice would be exempt from this.
Children cycling on pavements was legal as long as the child was under 10 years old and accompanied by an adult. There needs to be more work on this and the subject area is taken back for more consultation.
Next was vehicle repair and whether vehicles needed a MOT each year after it is three years old. EXCO did not accept this, as it is already illegal to drive an unsafe vehicle. The question was asked about the safety of Government vehicles. David Lang said they were in a different category all together.
Physical disabilities preventing one from driving a vehicle were discussed, with the proposal that one could retain a driver’s licence after the age of 70 but that you had to be medically assessed each year after your 70th birthday. If one is a taxi driver or a goods vehicle driver then you must be medically assessed every 5 years after your 45th birthday. Although Cllr Summers thinks this is bonkers it is thought that exponentially after these ages the risk of having a medical problem whilst behind the wheel increases and it would save lives to have these medical checks done. One comment was that you could be unfit to drive no matter what your age is.
Third party insurance for camp vehicles brought the comment that there should be cover of some kind for vehicles used mainly in camp or on undesignated roads. People not eligible to drive on designated roads could obtain a farm-wide permit that would entitle them to cover.
Blood tests for people who could not physically use the breath-o-liser brought the suggestion that besides Medical Doctors, designated nurses could do the job.
Fixed penalties for minor infractions (parking violations) would ease the workload at Court with the possibility of pleading guilty by post and/or given so many days to pay.
The removal of penalty points was discussed. The Court could disqualify a driver if he or she got 12 in 3 years. At the moment there were no penalty points. Seeing that this was seen to be unfair to farmers who rarely drive in Stanley, this was taken back for more work.
Discussion went back to permits to drive on farm-wide permits and it was asked what would happen if even that was withdrawn from a person. Farmers, however, didn’t want to be treated differently, as was brought out in the Farmers’ Week discussions.
The type and location of pedestrian crossings was discussed with debate being on why these crossings were placed near junctions and why there were no pedestrian operated lights. It was thought that the locations of the zebra crossings were for safety reasons. The audience agreed that these crossings should be well lit and maintained. There were still proposed crossings that have not been placed yet because it would be safer not to have them. One such location is outside the West Store.
Frequency in paying road tax was discussed with members of the public saying it would be convenient if vehicles could be given tax discs for the time they are actually being used on the roads. At the moment three months is the least amount of time for which you can have a disk.
A Good Samaritan Law was discussed so that someone helping out a person with a non-roadworthy vehicle won’t be prosecuted should there be an accident. David Lang pointed out that it might not be advisable but perhaps there should be Good Samaritan insurance for anyone getting hurt as a result of a Good Samaritan accident.
A member of the public asked about mopeds and whether you can use your drivers licence and vehicle insurance as cover while driving them. At the moment one needs insurance and a moped licence.
Another member of the public asked if within the bill there was provision for road tax on all trailers – even two-wheeled ones. David Lang said it’s the law. Cllr Summers said that there would be another look at that.
A member of the public had three proposals. One was to raise the speed limit on certain designated roads to 50mph. Secondly he wanted some roads to have a speed limit of 30mph. He suggested Ross Road West to the Malvina House Hotel, Ross Road East from Hebe Street to FIPASS and H. Jones Road and finally, a one-way system in the older parts of Stanley. Cllr. Summers said that there had been discussions about speed limits but they were inconclusive.
The Road Traffic Bill still needed a lot of work and it would not be ready for the October LEGCO.
Before the meeting closed there was some discussion about filling in the ditches on the MPA Road. There were areas where one could not discern the edge and when they filled with snow there was great danger as well. Richard Cockwell mentioned that due to road maintenance we needed the ditches and that the road was made differently than those in the UK.
The meeting ended at 1810hrs.
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