Health Minister Kyle Knowles says derelict vehicles are a growing hazard across the Turks and Caicos Islands, with the Environmental Health Department receiving an increasing number of reports about abandoned cars. Government is examining a more coordinated approach to identifying, removing and disposing of them.
Knowles attributed the rise partly to the growing number of vehicles in the country and the shorter lifespan of some third-party used vehicles. He said abandoned cars become breeding grounds for mosquitoes, fire hazards, havens for criminals and environmental threats when leaking oils seep into the ground. He said "there has to be a process as to how they're decommissioned", with the scrap metal policy covering much of the disposal, the littering policy letting Environmental Health penalise owners, and police able to tow and impound at the owner's cost.
New vehicle stickers with barcodes could help authorities trace owners faster, and severely derelict cars are marked with a large orange X before disposal. Knowles said the various government mechanisms must work together, and urged owners to be community-minded, telling authorities if they cannot afford to remove a vehicle so it is not treated as abandoned.