It is a controversy because hardly anyone in Samoa minded the importation of RHD vehicles into the country. All they wanted in a car was safety and afford ability,never mind which side the steering wheel was mounted.
A controversy because 35,000 adults signed the petition against the road switch. That is about one third of the nation's adult population, maybe the highest percentage for a petition by world standards. There is speculative estimates that many more numbers of government employees have quietly abstained from signing for fear of repercussions, or losing their jobs; something no one wants during the present recession.
However, the formal view is that these numbers against the road switch is still the minority of the voting population of Samoa. This is an unfortunate reality of any democracy.
What will cause trouble are the acts of vandalism and sabotaging of support infrastructure for the change. These include the reverse paint over of directional arrows and markers on the roads and on signs, as well as the destruction of signs, humps and other relative government property.
When the change date comes around, these are the acts that will directly cause deaths. When deaths do occur from these acts, where is the reasoning coming from, which puts the blame on the government initiated road switch and not on the vandals and saboteurs.
Already, one suspect vandal has eloped to American Samoa, where he is been sought to be sent back to Samoa to face further Police investigations and possible criminal charges.
The other valid point is that that accidents can and do happen.Hopefully, the driving public have been instructed enough about the road code and required amendments to keep accidents and deaths to a minimum.
Benefits, figments and headaches:
When change comes with the consequent increase in the number of vehicles, there will be the likely possibility that the present taxi operators, car rentals, buses, cartage haulers, etc, may already be feeling threatened by their own projections about the increase of the volume of the competition, with a corresponding decrease of the pie they will end up holding.
While those thinking of going into these businesses are contemplating their opportunities and rewards.
The aim of a concerned, responsible government is to make changes that create opportunities for the majority of its citizens, instead of the minority.
When these opportunities arrive, those with the better Business Plan are those that prevail and reap their rewards; and those in the wrong business fail.
However, the change maybe too hasty, given the time period that the people have to prepare and adapt their vehicles.
The country is already united in prayer for divine guidance, life, peace and harmony as they near an unknown and before an untried event that has come about in their lifetime. So many people are now just so feeling sick, tired and frustrated of talking about and debating this subject and there's not much views around on power struggles and political games. The atmosphere is now saturated with realism and seriousness, and people are now turning to their faith in the Almighty God to carry them through, and will still unite in prayer on the day (Monday).
The protesters' profile:
It is not difficult to assess that those living in Samoa,
1. with easier access to vehicles from the USA and its territories,
2. are those business
owners and individuals that will lose money and resources on the adaptation and conversion process to the road-change,
3. those who don't have enough time, money and resources to adapt their vehicles.
4. those who fear for the worst as this for them is untreaded ground with many variables and unknowns.
5.and their affiliates,
are most of those protesting this change.
They are adamant that the change will bring more harm than good to the economy.
The road switch supporters profile:
1.Those who have the resources to adapt their vehicles and little to lose.
2.Those who are ready to acquire a new vehicle and little to lose.
3.Those who have easier access, through family, friends and by other means, to RHD vehicles from New Zealand, Australia and similar drive side countries would be all for the change.
They and most of the government are confident that the change has a more positive outlook for the country's economy.
This latter group makes up the majority of those in Samoa, who will eventually own cars when the change goes ahead, however gradual.
The majority of the Samoan communities in Australia and New Zealand also support the change, and many of them actually do pay out of their own pockets for the vehicles, (plus the relevant freight and duty), that they send home to their families.
Other factors supporting the change is the lower rate of exchange of the New Zealand and Australian Dollars compared to the US Dollar. As well as the lower freights from New Zealand and Australia compared to freights from the US, Canadian, and similar origins.
Red-countries with right-hand traffic(LHD vehicles)
Blue-countries with left-hand traffic(RHD vehicles)
copyright: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-_and_left-hand_traffic
Geographically, samoa is closer to other countries who drive on the left, that use RHD vehicles.Presently, they source their vehicles from the red areas that are further away, and they pay unnecessary extra freight. They also pay unnecessary extra import duty that's based on the vehicle's CIF value (cost+insurance+freight).
Exceptions now being realized are that there are cars now sold in Samoa from Singapore and Japan which are cheaper than those from New Zealand and Australia.
On the question on gas guzzling American LHD cars in Samoa now, that is open to debate, as the present car technologies are more or less universal; but not if the cars implied, were made before the present cleaner burn and engine management technologies, are not electric or hybrid cars, or require spare parts that are more or less beyond being affordable- that is, coming from the US and attracting the higher exchange rates and freight.
On the question of the drivers tending to steer onto the other side of the road (where they used to drive, out of habit)after the change, that will eventually come to pass. The Samoans in New Zealand and Australia, and most global travelers have managed to accomplish that with minimal loss of life and limb.It only needs the cooperation from the entire driving public of Samoa to safely accomplish the changeover.
Of course there will be that perceived and estimated percentage of people from New Zealand, Australia and similar countries who have been avoiding Samoa as a tourist destination solely because of the side of the road they now travel on. When changed, the Red zone,right road side traffic, LHD vehicle drivers, will be the ones contemplating that decision about whether or not to travel to Samoa.
It will be more beneficial for the Samoan economy if the change will increase even more,the already large number of tourists and returning Samoans from Australia and New Zealand.
Most tourists of the further away countries (red zone) would not travel to Samoa any way because of the distance, unless they really wanted or had to.
Adaptations and conversions:
Although the adaptive work needed, like for example, by the buses changing the side of their walkways to comply, and other vehicles that require them would be viewed as temporary, this work could be enough to tip the scales for some individuals and companies that are at present on the verge of bankruptcy and/ or are struggling to survive. This would be true especially if there is no constant business volume to go around or they really can't afford the adaptations required.
Although there is also the argument of whether or not the present amount of compensation offered by government is enough or not, one wonders that ‘when it is not enough’, whether it would be in the best interests of the government and the economy if too many businesses are left stranded.
One possible way to ease this is for the government to approach the banks to broker a deal to increase overdrafts for specific affected businesses at least to cover their adaptation fees, above the government’s present compensation offers. The government can assist and oversea that these special overdraft extensions be paid back over a period of years.
There is talk that there is at least a company setting up to buy up the soon to be redundant used LHD vehicles for reselling overseas. Although the concept seems hard to swallow due to the beatings that the present vehicles receive from the many potholes around Samoa, it may be an economic viability.
One other remedy is to let the LHD vehicles now in the country to run their remaining operational life legally, but with precautionary awareness stickers warning of their LHD status attached.
The last remedy may be in the consolation that the high scrap metal prices for cars remain around for a while yet, as long as China at least holds or increases it’s demand.
In retrospect:
In the past, overseas companies like Dominion, and Fletcher Challenge, etc, who had to partner with local companies to carry out various construction work, were granted special allowance by the Samoan government then to import RHD heavy and light vehicles to accomplish their work loads.
Every contractor has a relative specific budget to work within, and this move by government then was not only to lower these initial vehicle costs and overheads, but also that the cheaper and reliable parts support infrastructure of New Zealand and Australia will see them more likely to accomplish their tasks within their respective allotted budgets.
With the impending change, there is a view that Samoa should realize savings in the millions of Tala in foreign exchange in heavy vehicles, plant and machinery alone and parts thereof.
Throughout the decades, there has been an overwhelming growth of the numbers of Samoans and their families, and friends in New Zealand and Australia who have been constantly requesting the Samoan government to allow them to send vehicles back home to enable their families in Samoa to develop their standards of living, income, businesses, plantations and farms and consequently serve their churches, church activities, and government better.
They were allowed at cost initially and then denied because of the RHD nature of these vehicles, and had to go around the more costly routes in order to get vehicles to their families. Most of them couldn't do it because they were already more or less financially spent:
1. They had to go to the US convert their money, buy a vehicle there and send it to Samoa.
2. They had to buy a brand new one from the manufacturer's agents in Samoa.
3. They had to wade and wait through some red tape, and pay above normal charges before their RHD could be allowed into Samoa.
A while back when there was only just speculation of the road change, there was an article in the New Zealand version of the Observer Newspaper with a picture of a beat up old sedan in some one’s back yard in New Zealand.
This article made the assumption that Samoans in New Zealand would send their relatives back home their beat up old junk cars with no current warrant of fitness if the change ever goes through. At the end of this article, the question was asked of the New Zealand based Samoan readers of whether they would send back home to their families their useless junk cars?
Well the Samoan Government allows cars from New Zealand from the present year’s model and going back only a certain number of years. Before the new Legislation, a vehicle had to be not more than 5 years to qualify for importation, now the threshold is twelve years.
If you ever go to Samoa soon, then you the reader can be the judge of whether or not this Newspaper’s article was correct about cars coming from New Zealand being junk cars or not, as they are now in stiff competition with cars from Singapore and Japan.
Next year about this time, we will all see just how advantageous and beneficial this road switch will have been. If it does turn out to be a success, there will be many earaches caused by the road switch initiators saying I told you so and so.
But if not, it will be the other way around, never mind whose in line for a job switch.
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http://www.lta.gov.ws/lta_news.htm
http://takeatrainride.blogspot.com/2009/08/life-in-samoa-means-making-adjustments.html
http://flowerahkuoij.wordpress.com/
http://fletcherbluebirdlemafa.blogspot.com/
