2013 in 'rear-view'

Last Sunday, Automotives looked back at the first half of 2013.
This week, we finish the recap of last year, looking at July to December
in the rear-view mirror.

7: A bevy of beautiful Tezza World Jamaica promotional
women, an approximately 50-strong membership group of Toyota Altezza
owners, and a special guest appearance from dancehall artiste Mavado
topped off Tezza Rush, held at the Texaco Service Station, Mary Brown's
Corner, St Andrew.

July

7:The National Road Safety Council (NRSC)
has pointed to the Norman Manley Highway in Kingston (popularly known as
the Palisadoes road) as a problem roadway with regard to speeding
violations. The NRSC has lamented that motorists are not obeying the
speed limit along the highway.

14: Laraine Williams of Mona
Heights Prep wins Category One, Mishawn Chin-See of Wolmer's Girls is
first in Category Two, and Deon Simone Green from Brown's Town Community
College takes Category Three in the 2013 NRSC Poster Competition.

14:
National Commercial Bank stages its annual Auto Dealers' Awards
Ceremony. Toyota Jamaica and Crichton Automotives are the top new- and
used-car dealerships, respectively.

21: A number of
Jamaican new-car dealerships have staged special sale events or have
been advertising discounted prices. While this may be mistaken for
intensified competition among new-car dealers or desperate measures
being taken to simulate sales, Automotives has learnt that it is simply a matter of making way for 2014 models.

28:
Commissioner of Customs Major Richard Reese reports a stronger
performance by used over new cars for the 2013 first quarter (April to
June).

August

4: The Jamaica Public Service Company and the Caribbean Maritime Institute have partnered to retrofit 30 street lights along the Palisadoes main road in Kingston with solar-powered light-emitting diode fixtures. This is to be done by the end of September.

11: Despite there not being a large crowd at the Dover Raceway in St Ann for the standard Emancipation/Independence meet, the organisers are satisfied with its overall staging. President of the Jamaica Race Drivers Club, Christopher McFarlane, said that a number of elements contributed to the event's success.

11:Persons who leave or dump construction material on the road, resulting in the impediment of vehicular traffic on the roadway, are liable to face criminal sanctions under the Towns and Communities Act as well as the Main Roads Act. The material includes sand, gravel, rocks and cement.

25: Before purchasing a used car, it is advisable that the potential buyer enquire if the vehicle has a history of being smoked in. This is to prevent potential exposure to third-hand smoke (the residue from second-hand smoke that clings to surfaces), which can accumulate and linger inside vehicles. This may predispose occupants to diseases, including cancer. The warning comes after the recent ban on smoking in public spaces in Jamaica.

September

1: With the 2013-14 academic year set to begin tomorrow, Dr O'Neil Ankle, principal of Jonathan Grant High School in St Catherine, is lamenting the lack of proper sidewalks close to the White Church Street, Spanish Town, school. He is adamant that the situation is a disaster waiting to happen, as the school's students face potential danger.

1: The Jamaica Urban Transit Company is moving to introduce a park-and-ride bus service to residents of Portmore, St Catherine. This is in an effort to boost revenue for the cash-strapped company, as well as allow commuters to save on transportation costs.

8: The Kingston and St Andrew Division (Area 1) of the Jamaica Fire Brigade has its life-saving capabilities boosted with the donation of a Hurst hydraulics rescue tools system - more popularly known as jaws of life. It is used to extricate persons who are trapped in vehicles after crashes. The system consists of a spreader, cutter, ram, pedal cutter and rescue struts and was donated by ABC Electrical Sales.

15: Prolonged exposure to music at high volumes from vehicle stereos will inevitably put consistent listeners' hearing at risk and can lead to permanent noise-induced hearing loss. Certified audiologist and head of audiological services at the Jamaica Association for the Deaf, LaToya Wilmot-Brown, explains that "noise-induced hearing loss is of great concern, and with an increasing trend of personal stereo systems, we will see an increase in younger persons with this kind of hearing loss unless we all learn to listen safely".

22: Shortly after the introduction of ultra-low sulphur diesel into the Jamaican market in June, the demand was sluggish. However, there has been an increase in the number of persons utilising the product at service stations at which it is available. "The pickup was slow, but it has moved and people like it," says Ixes-Roy Thomas of RUBiS Energy Jamaica, Jamaica's Shell licensee.

22: Despite fires on two Jamaica Urban Transit Company buses in recent
weeks, the state transport company's Marketing and Communication Manager
Clinton Clarke says there is no indication of a fall-off in passengers
on the affected routes. "There is no empirical evidence to suggest that
there has been any fall-off in passengers on these routes," he said.

29: Despite efforts by new- and used-car dealerships to hold strain as the Jamaican currency steadily weakens, both sectors have had to increase motor-vehicle prices.

29:Samantha Summerbell's dream to one day race in the Formula One series, competing against some of the world's top-notch drivers, is inching closer to reality. "She has been nominated as the Jamaican representative (to the Young Driver Excellence Academy), but we are yet to get conformation from the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile," secretary of the Jamaica Millennium Motoring Club, Marcia Dawes, tells Automotives.


OCTOBER

6: At least 12 deaf motorists have been granted a driver's licence recently. However, Rian Gayle, research/advocacy officer in the Social Services Department of the Jamaica Association for the Deaf, pointed out that there could be more, as persons in the rural areas have not been accounted for. Gayle said while many deaf persons attempt to earn a driver's licence, "we can't say how many attempt every year. We only know of those who are successful".

Then head of the Police Traffic Division, Senior Superintendent Radcliffe Lewis, insists that as of October 7 there will be an islandwide crackdown on tinted public passenger vehicles. "All tints must be removed. I am advising them that we will be out in full force Monday morning with examiners, and if any vehicles are found with tints, their licence plates will be taken off and their vehicles seized and impounded," he said.

13: The Transport Authority and St Catherine Bus Association have partnered to launch an authorised school-bus programme in the parish. The St Catherine project was launched on September 2, at the start of the school year. The project sees approximately 40 contract operators providing transportation services, using Toyota Hiace buses, to students from basic, preparatory, primary, and high schools.

On September 11, the Jonathan Grant High School, Spanish Town, St Catherine, became the first school in Jamaica to launch a Jamaica Automobile Association (JAA) Junior Club, with an inaugural meeting and pinning ceremony for some of its 36 members. The JAA Junior Club initiative is a creation of the JAA and the Jamaica National Building Society Foundation, in collaboration with JN General Insurance Company Limited, the Ministry of Education, the FIA Foundation and the FIA Road Safety Grant Programme.

Concerned about the calibre of bus and taxi drivers in Jamaica, the Public Passenger Vehicle Modernisation Council has embarked on a strategic drive to regularise them. This is being done through a new management information system, Driving History Information (DHI). It will be administered through the Public Transport Management System. The DHI system will be implemented on October 28.

27: The Jamaica Urban Transit Company will have a second practice exercise for the dedicated bus lane along Nelson Mandela Highway, St Catherine, on Tuesday. This follows the state-run bus company's initial effort last Thursday, which was marred by hiccups as traffic piled up along the high-traffic roadway. The lane will be used for three months, beginning Friday, November 1.

Although he did not win any of the major prizes at the Heroes of Speed race meet held at the Dover Raceway, St Ann, Caribbean champion driver David Summerbell has more than one reason to celebrate. His Total Lubricant teammate, Andre Anderson, gave another dazzling performance to cement his first lien on the national circuit racing title. Anderson also won the Modified Production Class 3 Championship. Summerbell's daughter, Samantha, was crowned the Bracket 32 Champion and, based on the points standings, she is the top female performer.

NOVEMBER

3: It was a car lover's heaven at the University of the West Indies, Mona campus, as the campus played host to the inaugural Collegiate Auto Expo. Dubbed Project Rev, the event was organised by the Roosters of Taylor Hall. Several high-end luxury vehicles, as well as the more moderate models, were on display on the lawns close to Taylor Hall.

At first, he was worried that the marriage between himself and his dearly beloved Audi TT was about to crash. But Doug Gore would not allow the prestigious race car to slip out of his hands, after ATL pulled out of sponsorship. "I then sold two cars to make up the money to buy out ATL's share in the Audi TT. Today, I can say that I am the sole owner," said Gore.

10: Preparations have been completed and it is time for the pair of Jamaican drivers to execute their strategy at the World Karting Championship, which gets under way in New Orleans, United States, on Wednesday. Thomas Issa has departed the island while 11-year-old Justin Sirgany, a student of St Andrew Preparatory, leaves on Tuesday.

17:Principals Leighton Christie of Papine High School and Maureen Simmonds of Danny Williams School for the Deaf are satisfied with the work being done on a sidewalk along Gordon Town Road, in an area which has been unsafe for the many students who use it. The Lester Mair Gilby School for the Deaf is also in the general area.

24: This year's staging of Rally Jamaica will not end in downtown Kingston as previous stagings had done, which provided onlookers with the thrills of high-powered cars doing tyre-smoking manoeuvres on the city's streets. According to chairman of the Jamaica Millennium Motoring Club, Peter Clarke, the guaranteed crowd-pleaser will not happen this year because of a lack of funding and sponsorship. Instead, Tru-Juice will organise the final leg of the competition at its Bybrook Orchards in Bog Walk, St Catherine, on December 1.

DECEMBER

1: The St Catherine School Transport Association (Contract) Limited is changing the way students in the parish commute to and from school. According to the company's chairman, Hector Rowe, the service started with 21 members in the Portmore community and this has since climbed to 59 operators spread across St Catherine.

8: Fifteen year-old Campion College schoolboy, Thomas Issa, is named by website kartrank.com as the number-one junior karter in North America.

15: Pristine grey-tiled floors featuring local craftsmanship, white walls decorated with square shelves and LCD televisions showcasing the latest Mercedes-Benz vehicles. This is just a taste of the décor accentuating the brand new Silver Stars Motors showroom at 51 South Camp Road, Kingston, which was unveiled to the public.

Well-populated stands with an enthusiastic crowd applauding the many thrills on the 1.8-mile track marked the most recent JamWest Speedway meet, according to the organisers, as a number of local and international drag racers went head-to-head in Little London, Westmoreland.

22: Songstress Tessanne Chin, who sang her way into the hearts of viewers worldwide to win season five of The Voice television show, earned herself a brand new 2014 Kia Sorento SUV in the process. The other two top-three competitors, Will Champlin and Jacquie Lee, also won their choice of a new Kia vehicle.