The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

The absence of facilities to carry out detailed physical vehicle inspections in the country could render a title system “pointless” according to the principal of a local solutions provider.

Franklyn Robinson, head of Digital Access Control Systems (DACS) said that is firm in partnership with three international firms, the Datacard Group, Giesecke & Devrient, and the UTSCH Group is looking to modernise the country’s vehicle licensing and registration systems. Road Traffic Controller Ross Smith told Tribune Business in an interview last week that the automation of key services at the Road Traffic Department is one of the major undertakings set to “radically change” the department over the next few years, with a ‘vehicle title system’ to be a part of that initiative.

“Considering what a title is, the title is telling agencies that the vehicle is the vehicle but minus any physical inspection of the vehicle, the title is useless. Someone could steal your car tonight and tomorrow they could import that same car from the US into the country as a wreck. After importing that car they would then list the VIN number, the one on the dashboard and replace that with the VIN number that is on the stolen car. They would take their documentation to an insurance company who issues and insurance on that vehicle based on the information on a piece of paper. You would take that paper to the Road Traffic Department which doesn’t do any technical inspection on the car. You are actually insuring and licensing a piece of paper. There is no physical inspection, meaning that the technical inspection regime where you go through a list to verify not only the visible VIN number but the manufacturer’s physical chassis number, transmission number and engine number. That is what verifies that the card is the car that is titled. Minus that technical inspection a title system is pointless,” said Mr Robinson.

He added: “That is the loophole that exists in the country and the reason why there is much car theft because of the listing of VIN numbers and everyone knows that no one does any inspections. The process is backwards. You gain insurance on the vehicle and the insurance company does not even know now is road worthy. I could take the decal off of a derelict car that’s been sitting for 10 years and walk into an insurance company and get insurance on that car and then take that insurance document to the Road Traffic Department and get that car registered because there is no technical physical inspection going on in the county.”

Mr Robinson said that what his company was proposing would ultimately provide the “first stop” inspections facilities for detailed vehicle inspections in the country. “Our proposal is to provide that first stop. A car comes into the county and it should immediately go to an inspection facility to determine the road worthiness of it and then determine that the tile that is accompanying the car is for that car. The only way that can happen is through multiple physical technical inspections. That is our proposition.” Mr Robinson said that his firm and partners over the past 18 year have made numerous overtures to both government administrations to assist with remedying what he described as the unnecessary “chaos” at the Road Traffic Department.

Last week Road Traffic Controller Ross Smith confirmed that RTD was having issues in providing license plates for private vehicles in light of concerns expressed by several dealers. “Our group has proposed to offer a quick, proven and tangible solution to the issue of Vehicle Plate Manufacturing and to introduce Technical Vehicle Inspection in the Bahamas. Our approach to the Bahamas Government is to enter a partnership (PPP) where we make a 100 per cent the investment in the buildings, equipment, technology and supplies and 40% of the revenue reverts back to the Government, increasing revenue in this sector while creating between 150 - 200 new high paying jobs,” said Mr Robinson.