Get Junk cars off the islands

I like it! I have noticed quite a few old cars ruining the views. They're probably not particularly safe, either, with all that oil, gas, etc. leaking into the ground. Bermuda's plan might work.

i noticed quite a few as well when i was there last. it would definitely doesn't help the look of the island.
is there any kind of recycling done on stx?

Isn't abandoned cars what Turnbull's cronies who just went to jail for stealing government money were tasked with eliminating? I thought I read that, if so it explains why we have so many junkers around (the money to clean this up was stolen). Anyway, we have a bunch of them now on our road leading up Mt. Welcome by Canegata....I noticed green stickers going on them, maybe they will remove them soon? Is there a hotline that anyone knows about to report abandoned cars to schedule them for removal?

Sean

Yes, I can't think of the number off hand.....But you call Government house and you must have the make model, plate number color and location of the vehicle and they will place it on the list of vehicles to be removed.

Here I think they spraypaint something on the windshield with orange paint.

our mayor and his assistant were on free speech awhile back talking about this subject,and their wisdom said that 10 different gov agencies are involved in the removal of just one junked car,now how absolutly ludecrous(sp) is that.

No wonder it takes so long to get those removed!

It's Public Works on STT that does it, I think.

And once they are "removed", where should we take them? Saying "off island" is fine, but this is heavy stuff and expensive to ship. Plus, why should Florida, or Puerto Rico or anywhere else for that matter want our junk cars? Unless/until they have some monetary value, I'm afraid they are our problem. And maybe that's as it should be. This is a pet peeve of mine - pass the trash. It's no better in the states, it's just not as obvious.

Some countries instead of lowering the license fee each year, increase it to the point that most people will keep newer cars.
As an old car enthusiast I'm not sure I would like that.
Actually I don't think that the cars on the road are as bad in STX as I have seen on some of the other islands. Yes, there are far too many sitting in yards rusting away.

Linda J
What would be your suggestion regarding the "Junk Cars "since as you say they are 'OUR PROBLEM"! Do we Stack them, Bury them, Use them for flower planters, Dump them at sea. If the auto owners pay to bring them in (Cars), They should pay to bring them out (Cars). I'm all ears on this one.

there is a crusher on island and they do ship them out but the bill to the shipper outer guy had'nt been paid for awhile and he would'nt take them out anymore until the bill had been paid,before any of that happens they have to be towed somewhere and then someone checks the vin number,then the cops get involved to make sure the car is not the victim in or the suspect of a crime,then someone gets to drain the oil,then another someone gets to drain the gas,and then someone for all the other fluids,then someone for the tires and on it goes.

Don't know about STX, but they do haul them away over here on STT and do send them off island to PR I think. I have seen over twenty trailers filled with crushed cars ready to go and several passed me on the road.
Those other places and countries like Bermuda can do that. Remember, this is America where you have rights. You can't take a person's right away to have a car, let alone a beat up one. They could be stricter in the inspection process and condemn those that are unroadworthy ,but here come the 'civil rights' people again. .My problem is the length of time they take to get on off the road. Your best bet is to report the areas to the Administrator, as they are tasked with the car removal situation.

Ronnie,
Just for the record, one must have a license to drive, register and insure a car. These are not constitutional rights, remember a license can be revoked. For cars they are called "License Plates" the word license mean anything to you. You can make an argument but please don't be silly!

You know limiting the amount of cars a person owns won't work. Nothing to be silly about. Your Administrator needs to get going and start picking up the cars, that's all.

Ronnie,
The point is not about the number of cars a person can own, it's about the proper disposition of them (Junk Cars). Why should my tax dollars pay to remove them. On the mainland that being the USA most municipalities by local ordinance fine you for (Junk Cars) and tow them away at the owners cost and expense. So where is the ACLU on that one. I referenced Bermuda because that is the Law of the land and it is an island. I think it's a good law. So if you want you can take the number of cars anyone could own one, two or three whatever makes you happy. The island mindset is always that's the Governments responsibility ( it's not).

I do agree on that issue.Unfortunately, they are not sophisticated enough to catch the violators. Without a plate, they can't trace the car to the owners. You see them listing the fines for the abandoned cars, but as far as recovering the monies, who knows? They should charge an up front disposal charge like the ones for the tires and batteries.

all the vin numbers are registered at dmv

Sure they are, but when I sold cars for a living, they constantly gave me registrations back with 15, 16 or 18 digits which should have been kicked out of their system as VINs are all 17 digits, Hopefully they have them inputted properly with a new system, if they have one. Hence they could only identify cars by their license plates..

Edited to add this PS And I truly believe this is t=still the case as when they print the list in the papers, they all have plate numbers, none without!

On Catalina Island, a very small island, they have limited the number of cars allowed. There is a waiting list to bring a car on island. One must leave before another can be brought on.

Lizard, I don't think it would ever work. The "poor" people would not be able to afford to have a decent car much less pay to have the junk car shipped out. Then the liberals would demand that the "rich" pay more taxes to help the "poor".
Here in Maricopa county in AZ, you have to pass emissions to be able to drive your car. Unless you are poor. Then they can either have the government (rich taxpayers) help pay for their repairs or get a waiver.

I agree that driving is a privilege not a right, but I don't see any way to make this work
The only way that I can see that this might work, is to add (tax) on to every auto brought on island, be it used or new, the cost to have it removed. You could even add extra to help get rid of the existing cars that go bad. But wait, that would mean that the money would go into a fund that the VI government would have control over and we know how well that works.

The problem with the tire disposal fee is it is optional. When you buy new tires you have the option to pay the fee and have the tire dealer dispose of your old tires or you can take the tires with you. Unfortunately it seems like a lot of people take the old tires with them and then as soon as they get a chance throw the old tires by the side of the road.

If they made the fee mandatory I bet there would be a lot fewer tires littering the island.

Jim

Fee could be incorporated in license plate renewals. Lets just say it would cost $200.00 to Junk a vehicle,. Put a life on a vehicle of ten years. DMV would charge an additional $20.00 per year on that vehicle, deposit those funds in an escrow account bearing interest to off set inflation costs. That vehicle would be paid for proper disposition. Lets say if the car was in an accident and was only two years old and was totaled ,The payment would be accelerated and paid by the insurance co (Just like the towing bill ).

I have no idea what to do with them, and that is my point. You are saying "take them away" and I'm saying how and where? IMO our best bet is to crush them and stack them in some out of the way spot on-island until prices have gone up enough that the scrap metal has value.

I suppose it is feasible to have some sort of up front "removal charge" when the car is shipped on-island that would deal with the car when it's useful life is over.

Then we could take them to Miami, dump them there and it would no longer be OUR PROBLEM.

When I lived in Oahu there were a lot of abandoned cars. Once a week a county vehicle would drive the Kam. Highway and put stickers on them. Then the locals would proceed to remove all the good parts. About a week or two later a truck would come and haul it away to a recycling facility where they removed all the fluids and crushed or ground them up. Then the remaining metal was loaded on a ship to be recycled. All the costs were paid thru registration fees and they actually made a little $ on the recycled metal.

Just before Hugo there was talk of limiting the number of cars. Nothing ever came of it.