Editorial: Derelict Vehicles an Eyesore

Ghosts of transport past?

The midway point is often perceived as a reasonable place to be … but not always. And in reference to Hurricane Ivan and the onset of the next hurricane season, Cayman is exactly there … the midway point.

Most of us are still caught up in repairs, in rebuilding our lives and our surroundings, but perhaps we should take time out to consider how well we are preparing for 1 June—especially when it comes to the issue of derelict vehicles.

Travel through any of Grand Cayman’s districts and we still see numerous cars and trucks in driveways, some jacked up and visibly missing parts, all of them lacking number plates; many are obviously derelict, already eyesores. Maybe it’s time for some hard questioning: are restoration plans really feasible or are we indulging in wishful thinking? Does the vehicle still have useful parts? If so, perhaps we should salvage them now and dispose of what’s left.

Few disagree with the observation that Grand Cayman’s post-Ivan landscape has changed, but what we don’t want is to replace flora with metal shells, mere “ghosts of transport past.” We have always taken pride in our surroundings and tourists customarily delight in what they see. So a word of caution: the downed cars of today are the disreputable, unsightly wrecks of tomorrow. These shells also have the potential to become the airborne missiles of a future storm, projectiles capable of carving their own paths of destruction.

Our surroundings—and vehicle disposal can add or detract from these—represent a collective responsibility. It can’t all be left to government to organize. Let’s all play our part: contact the Department of Vehicle Licensing today and find out procedures for having your unsalvageable transport tagged and collected.

For now, the service remains free of cost—so let’s make an effort to improve our surroundings while ensuring that we don’t miss the disposal boat (or in this case, “barge”).