|
Written by Leon Zaayman, Chairman AAWDC
|
|
Wednesday, 05 October 2005 |
RE : PROPOSALS BY THE AAWDC REGARDING THE SUSTAINABLE AND ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE USE OF OFF-ROAD VEHICLES
Herewith the AAWDC’s ‘one-liner’ proposals which shall be presented at
the National Off-Road Workshop. These items shall be broadly discussed
during our presentation slot. The final and complete paper, of which
you have seen draft 4, will be made available before the workshop.
- Off-road driving training, which includes an environmental best
practice section, must be compulsory to obtain a permit before one can
venture off-road in sensitive areas.
- The establishment of a non-profit regulatory body as a
partnership between government and private enterprise which shall be
managed by a council consisting of the various groupings of the
off-road community.
- A drivers’ licence or permit system which shall be issued by the
regulatory body on prove of having completed an approved training
course, before one can venture off-road in sensitive areas.
- The development of a self-policing system by which responsible
drivers and route owners can report irresponsible behaviour and
non-compliance to the regulatory body.
- The establishment of “Honorary Wardens” with policing powers to assist the self-policing system.
- The registration and rating of off-road routes on private and
public property with the regulatory body. Owners of sensitive
routes shall not allow drivers on their property without a permit.
- Development of an advertising protocol or policy to ensure that
radio, TV, and published advertisements do not misrepresent the
capability of vehicles, show environmentally insensitive activities or
in any other way portray the off-road community in a bad light.
- Proper training for off-road vehicle sales people to ensure that
prospective customers are not mislead regarding the capabilities of the
vehicles they are being to prevent environmental or vehicle damage.
We would like to caution against the indiscriminate use of these
one-liner proposals as they may easily be misinterpreted.
However, I am sure that you have a system in place which will ensure
that proper explanation of the meanings of the one-liners are provided
before discussion.
Best regards
LEON ZAAYMAN
CHAIRMAN AAWDC
|
