Get tough on daredevil racers

In response to the Trafalgar Road crash on Wednesday morning, Senior Superintendent of Police Radcliffe Lewis has advocated for legislation empowering motor-vehicle insurance policies to classify as suicide the fatalities of motorists who speed.

In other words, as most may be aware, life insurance policies do not pay out benefits to policyholders in the event that they commit suicide. So what SSP Lewis is advocating is that if there is a fatality resulting from an accident that was due to street racing, the policy should not pay.

While I am in full support of SSP Lewis' concern about curbing street racing, I don't believe that a recommendation to the insurance companies to amend their policies to treat street racing as suicide is a practical solution.

Even if the insurance company does not pay, this is a consequence to be suffered after the fact, after one has already committed the act of street racing and has already died. I don't think the dead driver will really care whether or not their insurance policy is going to pay or not. The measure suggested by SSP Lewis is reactive; a true remedy must be proactive.

What's the solution?

So, how do we curb street racing?

Measures should be considered at reducing the amount of souped-up cars that are on the street. These cars are not manufactured here, they are imported. Subaru Imprezas, Mitsu-bishi Evolutions, Nissan Skylines, to name a few, are among motor vehicles that are turbo-charged or super-charged and come equipped with horsepower in excess of 300. We should look at increasing the import duty on these vehicles and reducing the import duty on much safer vehicles such as SUVs.

SUVs have been historically proven to be involved in fewer accidents and even fewer fatalities from accidents that they are involved in, compared to other motor vehicles, needless to say, street-racing cars.

So the idea is to make it less affordable for one to buy such potentially 'dangerous' cars and make it more economical to buy safer vehicles such as SUVs.

To complement that, the insurance companies could then participate by increasing the insurance premiums for the vehicles that fall into the street-racing category and reduce the premiums on SUVs.

This way, when one considers buying a motor vehicle, the overall cost will be a significant factor in the decision. You will find that the individuals who now drive these cars either won't be able to afford one, or if they can afford them, such motorists may be a lot more resistant to engaging in reckless driving.

Furthermore, when parents purchase motor vehicles for their teenagers to drive, serious consideration must be given to the cost difference between buying a street-racing car and a safer alternative such as an SUV.

Long-term effect: fewer turbo-charged cars being imported into the country, less street racing occurring, and fewer accidents with fatalities occurring as a result of street racing.

Higher duty charges

But what about cars that are modified after the fact and were not turbo-charged or super-charged when they were imported? In this instance, we could look at increasing the import duty on the parts required to modify these cars, or ultimately banning them.

Of course, I can already hear the local race-car associations objecting to this initiative, but consideration can be given to them. Cars imported for the specific purpose of racing and to conduct such activities in specific, designated areas such as Dover Raceway, or Vernamfield, and which are not being licensed to drive on public roads could be exempt from this additional tax levy.

This initiative could ultimately be a win-win situation. A reduction in street racing and the accidents and fatalities associated with the practice would save the Government millions of dollars in health-care costs. And for those that still insist on buying these cars for street racing, it will result in increased revenue for the Government.

Kari Douglas is a valuation surveyor. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and kari.j.douglas@gmail.com.