MARIGOT–The Collectivité, in partnership with the services of the State and Prefecture, has made every effort in recent months to ensure a vehicle and truck technical control centre is once again operational on the island.
To this end and in support of a preliminary verification report carried out on the partially damaged DEKRA Grand-Case site, a territorial decree authorised the temporary opening of an alternative technical inspection, pending a return to normal activity by operators in the territory.
Thus, the approved DEKRA technical inspection centre in Hope Estate is authorised to carry out technical inspections on an isolated site outside the centre, under the conditions of the ministerial decree of July 27, 2004, from Monday, March 5, for heavy-duty vehicles, in the parking lot of Galis Bay from 8:00am to 4:00pm by appointment. Heavy goods vehicles on standby are invited to park at the Carnival Village site.
An alternative roadworthiness check will be carried out from Monday, March 12, for light vehicles. Checks will be carried out exclusively by appointment with DEKRA by calling (0690) 74.03.79 (DEKRA Grand Case located at Hope Estate, Grand-Case).
If 85 per cent of the usual inspection points are carried out during an alternative inspection, the general conditions for passing a vehicle through the technical inspection remain unchanged. The vehicle must be in good condition to be presented, the owner must also provide the originals of the statutory documents: registration certificate, old roadworthiness test, original of the registration document or, if lost, an official duplicate issued by the local authority.
Heavy-duty vehicle owners must also submit their own documents; i.e., certificate of verification of the speed limit for heavy vehicles and certificate of fitting-out for the number of seats in public passenger transport. Vehicles that do not comply with European standards are subject to a special roadworthiness check, which is exempt from certain control points in the ministerial decree of July 27, 2004, on roadworthiness tests for heavy-duty vehicles.
The alternative check will cover 115 control points distributed over the nine check sections; i.e., identification, braking, steering, visibility, lighting, signalling, distance from chassis to ground, state of body work, equipment, mechanical components and noise pollution.
With this alternative system, the St. Martin local authority wanted to provide a temporary solution to the many motorists waiting for a roadworthiness check to regularise their vehicles and enable insurers, in the territorial service of driving permits, to be able to process applications for registration documents (vehicle registration), this system being only temporary.
The alternative technical inspection of light vehicles, while contributing to the resumption of administrative and economic activities and the return of road safety conditions following the interruption phase caused by Hurricane Irma, will only be valid and limited to the territory of the Collectivité of St. Martin. Export vehicles will be required to undergo a new roadworthiness check at their new destination.
For all vehicles more than three years and six months old, the technical inspection is mandatory in case of transfer. When a vehicle is transferred, the roadworthiness check must be valid for less than six months. The technical inspection must be carried out after four years for new vehicles, and then every two years. It must be carried out after one year for taxis and heavy goods vehicles and after six months for public transport vehicles.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/74184-car-truck-technical-inspections-operational-again-on-french-side
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