Ministry stalled by traffic law
(CNS): The works ministry has said that a number of what it described as “very complex legal issues” are behind the delay in the implementation of the new traffic law and in particular access to the highway for electric cars. In a press release Wednesday ministry officials said that the risk of electric shock to emergency services personnel at a traffic accident involving electric cars, how to categorise the low speed electric vehicles and other issues have delayed the regulations which are required to accompany the law before it can be implemented. More than seven months after the bill was passed the ministry is still wrestling with the rules to go with it.
The Ministry of District Administration, Works, Lands and Agriculture (DAWL&A) said that writing the regulations involved “a multi-department approach” that has included the attorney general, the legal department, the Department of Vehicle and Drivers' Licensing (DVDL) and the DAWL&A ministry. In addition, the ministry claimed the regulations had to be researched by looking at other jurisdictions, such as United States of America, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the Caribbean, to examine electric vehicle legislation.
“The Regulations are a complex set of documents consisting of 12 separate sections on the protocols and procedures that interpret the law,” said the minister with responsibility, Juliana O’Connor-Connolly. “These range from fines, speed limits, testing of drivers and vehicles and the road code.”
Officials claimed that registration and licensing of electric vehicles was an intricate process and required extensive research on many issues, including the proper classification of vehicles and arriving at a universal, scientific formula to accurately record the kilowatts per hour for the engine output, rather than the usual recording in horse power or cubic centimeters for combustible engines.
Director of DVDL David Dixon said proper classification was just one of the issues as public safety has also been of concern.
“Some electric cars have a different mechanical architecture to the typical vehicle with a combustion engine; therefore, a new protocol by our first responders had to take into consideration when dealing with accident,” he added. “Electric shock is an area of particular concern for responders. Today’s popular hybrids include batteries that surge with 500 volts of electricity, which is enough to cause serious injury or death.
“Though most cabling for such systems is colored orange for easy discovery, the practice isn’t followed by all manufacturers. The batteries’ location, typically in the trunk, might also be unknown to responders. Another area of concern is fire. So while the demand for hybrid and electric vehicles continues to grow, it’s important for first responders to understand what informational resources are available to us and it is our job to ensure that everything falls in line,” the department official explained.
There is, however, no evidence of research showing emergency personnel have ever been seriously injured or electrocuted at a crash site and most research points to electric vehicles being no more dangerous than regular cars and even likely to be safer. Car manufacturers generally protect batteries from becoming breached by a collision by putting them near, under or behind rear seat areas, enclosed in tough metal boxes. Packs are designed to automatically disconnect the battery if a collision is severe enough to deploy the airbags or trip the crash sensor. The high voltage is also shut down as soon as the ignition is turned off.
The ministry said that aside from the new safety issues the categories of electric vehicles have also posed challenges for officials in the regulations, which will allow electric vehicles capable of exceeding 30 miles per hour to be registered and licensed alongside regular vehicles but those not capable of that speed classified as "special electric vehicle".
Under Part 5 of the law, these special electric vehicles (SEVs) can only be used in school zones or where the speed zone is less than 30 miles per hour. This is because neighborhood electric vehicles, as they are also known, were not designed for highway use but for campuses, communities and neighbourhoods where the speed limit is less than 30 miles per hour. Some of these types of cars do not have crash protection or side impact bars and in some instances do not have doors.
SEVs operating in speed zones of 40 or 50 miles per hour may be committing an offence of obstructing traffic as the law states that it is the duty of every driver to avoid obstructing others if they are allowed on the highway.
The minister said the department was aware that some members of the public are “anxious to purchase” electrical cars and as a result the “technocrats are working hard to ensure that all of the regulations are done properly and in a timely manner.”
O’Connor-Connolly said the ministry had communicated over the years to various car dealers in Cayman that a fully electric vehicle could not be registered and licensed due to the technical components of the vehicles.
“Both the ministry and department have periodically issued updates on the progress of the legislation so that no one would prematurely import the vehicles that could not be licensed as yet,” she said, taking aim at a local dealer who has been campaigning for the use of electric cars in Cayman for almost a decade and who has already imported several vehicles.
John Felder, who is the islands' exclusive electric car dealer, has a list of clients anticipating the implementation of the law and is ready to install solar powered charging stations but it has been a long wait. Felder told CNS recently that he continues to live in hope that eventually Cayman will being driving towards a greener lifestyle. He currently has invested more than $100,000 in cars that he cannot yet sell.
Felder may have to wait several more weeks for the regulations, as the minister confirmed there is still more work to do on one of the 12 sections of the regulations and the new road code has not yet been completed. “My team and I are striving for the implementation of the law and regulations as soon as possible. I am committed to see thisproject through,” O’Connor Connolly promised.
The Motor Vehicle Insurance law has already been amended to accommodate insurance for electric vehicles but commencement of the actual traffic law can only be issued after the Traffic Regulations have been completed and then considered and approved by Cabinet.
Once in place, however, government was planning a law to reduce import duties on hybrid and fully electric vehicles in an effort to promote lower gas costs and a greener, cleaner environment, the minister said.
The decision was made to completely overhaul the traffic law to facilitate electric cars and a number of other updates. A long time in the works, it was eventually passed in the Legislative Assembly in November and contains other new provisions, such as a ban on car clampers and using cell phones without a hands free device while driving.
Category: Local News
OMG! Please tell me I am having a bad dream! Please tell me that the "ministry" did not just make yet another statement that manifests the fact that our government is filled with brain-dead morons!
So, the Ministry of Works says the risk of electric shock to emergency services personnel at a traffic accident involving electric cars is one of the reasons that the regulations governing electric vehicles (EV's) have been delayed? This has to be the stupidest, most moronic, dumbest, lamest, silliest, most mindless, most brain-dead and idiotic thing I have heard from our government. Today anyway. Of course the day is not over yet and I am sure that I will get several more Daily Doses of Stupidity From Government, but this pile of nonsense is going to be really hard to beat when looked at in the light of reason, logic and reality. But just when I think that our government cannot do or say anything more stupid, they amaze with even more profound stupidity.
Earth to Ministry. Hey, Juju?! You there? Julieeeee? Anybody home? The danger of local emergency personnel being at risk of exposure to dangerous voltages involving automotive drive charging systems has been around for some time now! Check out this article from CNS: http://centos6-httpd22-php56-mysql55.installer.magneticone.com/o_belozerov/31115drupal622/headline-news/2011/03/07/electric-hybrid-beats-law
Juju, in case you and your Ministry and the Department of Vehicle and Drivers' Licensing (DVDL) missed this, the Chevrolet Volt sports several "High Voltage" warning stickers in various places. What have you and Mac done about the danger to emergency responders posed by the hybrid vehicles now on the roads? Anything?
The fact that Director of DVDL David Dixon, chimed in with more clap-trap is a particularly sad commentary about the state of Cayman's bureaucracy. He follows Juju's folly with this gem of off-topic rambling: Director Dixon says that “Electric shock is an area of particular concern for responders. Today’s popular hybrids include batteries that surge with 500 volts of electricity, which is enough to cause serious injury or death."
Dixon speaks of the issue giving reference to "hybrids". Who the heck is talking about "hybrids" here? We are talking about all-electric vehicles, these vehicles are the issue of the article. Earth to Director Dixon, speaking of hybrids: in case no one has bother to nudge you into reality long enough to get the point across, there are hybrid vehicles already licensed and on the roads in the islands and they have been posing a potential risk of death by electrocution to emergency personnel for some time now. (Notice I say "islands", as in plural? More on this in a minute.)
The Chevy Volt was touted as being the first hybrid vehicle licensed in the islands and its registration was accompanied by much hoopla and even a special ceremony at the vehicle licensing office. No one stopped the party long enough to consider the dangers back then. In my opinion if it is such a critical issue then the question of special emergency responder handling of vehicles with potentially lethal voltages should have been dealt in connection with the Volt hitting Cayman's roads, no? A bit late now I'd say, Mr. Nixon. What Juju? Over a year later and nothing has been done to address the issue? Pretty damn lame to use it as an excuse for delaying the regulations for EV's. How is it that this was not used as an issue to disallow registration of the Volt hybrid? Just wondering.
Hey, Juju, I got a few questions: Why in the hell were these issues not resolved and proper regulations drafted before the law was passed? Why the delay? Better to have waited and ironed out the critical issues first, dontcha think? Why pass a useless law? You claim to strive for excellence in government but apparently your idea of good governance includes the drafting and passing of half done legislation and the issuing of mindless, ill-informed press releases.
Further on "hybrids": I stand to be corrected on this as I received this info from a third party – and I certainly invite I verification or refutation – but according to my source a Chrysler hybrid private car has been tooling around Cayman Brac (at well over 60 mpg) long before the Chevy Volt was registered in early 2011! So the special ceremony given surrounding registration of the first hybrid car very well should have been held on Cayman Brac! If this is true then the "high voltage" issue should have dealt with way back when the Brac hybrid vehicle was given its tags.
I suppose that when the regulations are finally put into place the registration of EV's will be further delayed until we can provide our firemen and EMT's with the training and special equipment needed to deal with accidents involving EV's. I smell more excuses and more delays.
Excuses, excuses, excuses. I am freaking sick and tired of excuses. Lame, stupid excuses are even worse! (Right Juju?)
A better heading for this article would have been "Ministry Stalls Traffic Law"; better yet, "Stupidity Stalls EV Regulations".
Is this anything like when Rolston blamed Alden for passing a law without completing the Regulations, which Rolston said he had to come in and complete.
But, isnt this now Julie passing a law without completing the Regulations WHILE STILL IN OFFICE? What does Rolston have to say about Julie's sequence of events?
So sad the corrupt few in our gov't are always able to obstruct,defeat and destroy the positive things in our government, which serves to benefit us the people who pay their enormous salaries. Their something seriously wrong with our system of government that allows these persons to have so much arbitrary power over us and most are merely appointed by their secret handshake cronies and fellow minions. No wonder we always have so many problems in government
Oh dear god no! Not a scientific formula!!
Brilliant, this is too funny! Electric shock????? Never mind spilling petrol and sparks? Welcome to toy town people.
Next they will tell us we can no longer use push bikes, as when there is a crash, a spining pedal might injure the emergency services.
Give us the real reasons you useless W*****S???
and they have earned their exorbitant salaries once again!
This is prime example of the incompetence of some CI Government departments and the decay of Cayman. I am sure the petrol mafia and certain secret societies has some hand in this delay also. Come on people keepup with the times!
Anon 15;10 you are spot on with your assessment, however it is not the petrol mafia. However the entire system is inundated and overwhelmed by the ego and whim and self serving interest of the old bye netwuk and her sabateurs who are responsible for the sloth amongst other troubling situations in our government with the most serious being corruption and ineptness and serious incompetence. Until the reigns of influence and political power is taken from their grubby little hands not much improvement is expected.
Illuminati
What do you people expect from a government run and staffed by the inept? Come on now!
LOL, let me get this straight.
I can import some old clapped out petrol-driven car, get it through a joke vehicle inspection, cut 2" off the springs, put alloy wheels and a big muffler on it then tint the windows and drive round with the multi-megawatt stereo booming out thinking 'how cool am I?' and RCIPS will do nothing but if I use an electric car that has passed all the safety requirements for Japan, North America and Europe on the road they will arrest me?
You are s****ing me. Welcome to Third World Cayman.
This (like CUC's opposition with any sort of alternative energy source that might replace diesel) is something the Governor and his colleagues at the FCO could sort out in a heartbeat – I wonder why they don't do that?
What a pile of excuses! If the Ministry would put the same effort into preparing the legislation (i.e. draft law and regulations simultaneously!) that it does in insulting your intelligence or paving parking lots, it would be finalised in a day! Of course, they fail to mention that this legislation was previously drafted as reported in the media in 2008/9!!
They forgot to blame the PPM
What I see happening is… pure unadulterated beuracratic ____________ (fill in the blank)
Worth a watch again, "What I see Happening"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=derikGAEE9g
Or, they could bring out the Regulations as they get them done.
Surprising how moronic all this sounds when it's being offered to show how knowlegeable the Ministry is.
MOst of the issues raised above are matters of training for first responders not legislation.
When fools rules applies everything has " very complex legal issues". There is not enough work ethic or brains in all of CIG to figure this and every other very complex issue out.. This right now is the pinnacle of Caymanian achievment. Its all down hill from here.
There is a reason why Cayman can not Get important things done and keep up with the rest of the developed world.
I would have thought that these issues would have been considered when the law was still in draft form and out for comment. But then, what do I know?
These are the silliest comments on electric cars I have seen so far.
What about fire hazards in gasoline powered cars? Have you heard of the vast number of bureaucrats studying that problem?
By their nature, electric cars, by a wide margin, are more efficient, less polluting, safer, more controllable,, more maneuverable, and have lower maintenance than any fossil fueled vehicle.
So you have to ask, what is really blocking the minds of those in opposition to electric cars? Certainly no laws of physics or engineering. Which other countries ban elexctric vehicles?
Who are they protecting, and why, is what we have to ask.
Lack of intelligence and surplus of incompetence is the reason. The cure is hire for skill and experiance instead of kickbacks. Maybe in 20 years?
The government will probably get less fuel tax dollars if the public are able to switch to electric vehicles…
Basically, what they are saying is, "We can't understand it so you can't have it."
All these points have been more than adequately dealt with in places like the UK and the USA so there's no excuse for this.
If the local ” Rocket Scientists ” cannot work this out, how difficult would it have been to find out what regulations were implemented in other countries, which have been licensing electric cars for several years – God help anyone who considers importing cars which run on Hydrogen
Rubbish. Pass the law and get these cars on the road. It's been done in many other countries already.
I second the motion!
“The Regulations are a complex set of documents consisting of 12 separate sections on the protocols and procedures that interpret the law,” said the minister with responsibility, Juliana O’Connor-Connolly. “These range from fines, speed limits, testing of drivers and vehicles and the road code."
and of course, paving of the parking lots.
“very complex legal issues” simply means "fuel surcharge"; they love spend our money too much.
nothing for the improvement of cayman gets done with this government, where is the opposition?
cayman is doomed.
Who screwed up??? So they didn't know all of this before they passed the Law? Didn't they know that the Law needed the Regulations to go hand in hand? It looks like they screwed up here big time. The Law and Regulations were being worked on from over a decade ago and it seems they still can't get them right. So what will happen now if the Chevrolet Volt that our Premier was seen driving after it was inspected over a year ago is involed in an accident? Will the first responders know what to do?
Hello! Hello! Cayman to earth!!
The rest of the friggen world is doing this! Quit messing around and get with the times.
Did someone not get paid off or what???????
We do not have to invent anything the rest of the world has done that.
Let me see 1 kw/h = 1.341 horse power
quite a simple formula realy.
Now I have seen the an electric vehicle cross the elgin avenue many times from the government building to the carpark behind immigration.
Different rules for Joe Public aye!
perfectly safe, 21 st century, environmentally safe, electric cars are not allowed…but 20 year old japenese imports death traps are allowed………welcome to wonderland……….zzzzzzzzzzzz
danger of electric shocks?????………it would be funny if it wasn't true
incompetence is the reason.
There does seem to be a lot concentrated at the works ministry.