By Aaron Humes: In a significant move aimed at enhancing safety and protecting infrastructure, the Department of Transport has announced an immediate ban on the transportation of fully constructed wooden houses along major highways and public roads. The directive affects contractors, businesses, and individuals involved in the construction and sale of wooden homes.
The Department issued a notice on Thursday stating that no fully assembled house or structural unit can be moved on trailers or any conveyances on public roads. From now on, all wooden structures must be disassembled into parts before transportation can take place. The official notice was released by Chief Transport Officer, Leon Gentle.
“We have seen that this policy change is still creating some difficulty,” said Ministry of Transport CEO Chester Williams, citing the recent accidents as a reason to look in further depth into the policy. He continues, “…in addition to this, it is also directed that while they do the escort or transportation of these houses at nighttime, they must, must, do so with Transport or Police officers in vehicles with revolving lights. And from what I have been notified in the cases of both fatalities, this was being complied with…” He noted that the deceased drivers apparently failed to pay heed to the situation before their fatal crashes.
Additionally, the Department reminded transport operators that advance notification is mandatory for any movement of wide or oversized loads. This procedure helps to arrange necessary official escorts and ensures compliance with safety and traffic management requirements.
Transport authorities have limited the travel time for wide or oversized loads to the hours between 9:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. Approval must be secured from the Department of Transport, and the availability of escort services—provided either by the Department or local police—is required. Transport officials emphasized that escorts must utilize marked vehicles with revolving lights to alert other road users. Without these marked escort vehicles, no transport of oversized loads will be permitted.
Noncompliance with these new regulations could lead to severe repercussions, including penalties or the suspension and revocation of transport permits.
The post Department of Transport implements ban on transporting fully assembled wooden houses following fatal traffic accidents appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
By Aaron Humes: In a significant move aimed at enhancing safety and protecting infrastructure, the Department of Transport has announced an immediate ban on the transportation of fully constructed wooden houses along major highways and public roads. The directive affects contractors, businesses, and individuals involved in the construction and sale of wooden homes. The Department
The post Department of Transport implements ban on transporting fully assembled wooden houses following fatal traffic accidents appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.