Vehicle Defects

• St Helena Police conduct education and awareness programme
• Different topics will be discussed each week
• This week’s topic is Vehicle Defects

St Helena Police are currently conducting an education and awareness programme for the local community. Each week a different topic will be aired on local radio stations, issued via information releases and posted on Social Media.

This week’s topic is Vehicle Defects:

What is a motor vehicle?

A motor vehicle is defined as ‘a mechanically propelled vehicle intended or adapted for use on a road’.

Some of the offences on-Island commonly addressed by police officers involve motor vehicle defects.

Examples of a motor vehicle defect involves, but are not limited to, the following:

• Defective lighting including colours of lighting. Front lights should be clear and red displayed to the rear. Indicators should be displayed as red or amber
• Front and rear number plates being the incorrect colour or unreadable or distorted
• Excessive mechanical noise coming from the vehicle
• Excessive smoke emission from the exhaust
• Oil leaks from the vehicle.
• Excessive corrosion
• Wear and tear on tyres – tyres should have a minimum of 1mm depth and has to be ¾ of the breadth of the entire tyre.

Vehicle owners must ensure that doors to the vehicle can open from the inside and out.

Drivers must also have a means of identifying traffic at the rear of their vehicle and are therefore required to have at least one mirror for the driver to see traffic that’s either travelling to their rear or following their rear.

What happens if you are stopped for a vehicle defect?

Drivers will be informed by the police officer as to why they have been stopped and what the vehicle defect is or suspected to be.

Once this has been completed, drivers will be issued with a Vehicle Defect Report that relates to the Vehicle Defect Rectification Safety Programme (VDRSP). This report will state the vehicle’s registration number, the make and model and colour of the vehicle, the driver’s name at the time including their address.  It will then be completed detailing the defects of the vehicle. Drivers will be provided with a copy of this report and asked by the officer to rectify or repair the defects within a maximum period of 14 days. The police officer will then inform the certified Vehicle Inspector of the defect and the date. The Vehicle Inspector is an appointed person by the Governor and employed by St Helena Government.

Drivers will then be required to take their vehicle to the Vehicle Inspector within this period.

The database will be checked to ensure the vehicle is up-to-date with licence, MOT and Insurance.

The Vehicle Inspector, once visited, will deem what is reasonable regarding the defect or suspected defect.

Pending the severity of the defect, drivers could be asked to leave their vehicle at the location of the inspection with the Vehicle Inspector if the defect is not immediately repairable or is deemed by the Vehicle Inspector as unsafe to the driver and other road users.

Should a defect not be repaired or an inspection attended within 14 days of being issued with the Vehicle Defect Report, drivers will be requested to cease running their vehicle.

If the vehicle has been inspected and certified as being road worthy by the Vehicle Inspector, the driver will be notified and there will be no further requirements from the Police.   

Anyone wanting to seek clarification can speak to a police officer or refer to the Road Traffic Regulations which are available on the SHG website.

#StHelena #StHelenaPolice #VehicleDefects

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SHG
21 June 2021