For the Government of Aruba, The Primary Goal is to Ensure Traffic Safety and Pedestrian Safety.

Prime Minister Evelyn Wever-Croes:

In connection with the meeting with the commission in charge of regulating UTV and ATV vehicles.

On Tuesday, August 13, the Council of Ministers held a meeting with the commission responsible for regulating UTV and ATV vehicles. Prime Minister Evelyn Wever-Croes indicated that in 2022, the government established a new commission to pay more attention to these types of vehicles, recognizing that they are not always safe and have been involved in quite serious accidents in the past.

The government has received numerous complaints from residents living in areas where these vehicles frequently pass by, due to the disturbances they cause and the dust they raise. Additionally, there have been complaints that when these vehicles are on the road, they stop and obstruct traffic. The impact these vehicles have on nature is also concerning.

This attraction is highly popular among our visitors, and for this reason, the commission has been working for a year on different possibilities to maintain them in a safe manner. The Department of Public Transportation gave a presentation on how to implement better control over these vehicles. The Technical Inspection Service (DTI) demonstrated the dangerous aspects of these vehicles, and the Tax Department proposed creating a new category specifically for registering these types of vehicles.

The primary goal of the government is to regulate and establish requirements that all companies offering these vehicles as an attraction must comply with. These vehicles will need to be "approved," and they must be safe and meet safety requirements to ensure that everyone is secure. The government is also working on alternative routes to prevent these vehicles from passing through every area and damaging nature. In this effort, the Department of Nature and Environment has a crucial role in implementing the necessary legal changes.

Another important topic discussed was steps, segways, scooters, and e-bikes. Some of them already fall into a recognized category, but others do not. The Prime Minister expressed that steps or segways are not vehicles that should be on the road or on the roadside, as they do not have permission for this. Given that there are already companies offering these means of transportation, it will be necessary to sit with them to deliberate on how to regulate these as well. For the government, ensuring traffic safety and pedestrian safety is paramount, and therefore, they will work hard to reach decisions that benefit everyone involved.