own special vehicles without the burden of licence and registration fees.

The Motor Car Amendment Act passed by the upper house yesterday also expanded the size of special vehicles 169 inches by 67 to 180 inches by 73. Sen. Larry Scott (UBP) said a person that is not a member of the household is also permitted to drive that special vehicle. But he said this did not apply to every car owner.

The act also allows the owners of special vehicles to be exempted from paying licensing and registration fees, and any first car buyer can now be registered by the car dealer.

Sen. Neletha Butterfield (PLP) applauded the act and said that for several years Government had talked about meeting the needs of the physically challenged.

"This will definitely ease the burden of the drivers of Summerhaven buses. It is long overdue,'' she added.

Sen. Terry Lister (PLP) raised the question as to whether the act would allow the parents of physically handicapped children, who were not eligible to drive a car, to purchase one.

And he asked if non-physically challenged persons could also drive a special car when the physically challenged person was not in it, "if so, that should be extended to all cars, which would lessen the amount of traffic''.

Sen. Larry Scott also said the Auxiliary Bicycles Amendment Act, 1995 would also allow first time bike buyers to have their auxiliary bikes registered and licensed by the dealer which would relieve some of the pressure on the Transport Control Department.

Sen. Butterfield asked ho dealers would be monitored, and said there would have to be standards and requirements for these bikes.

Sen. Lister agreed and said that the testing should really be done by a licensed mechanic.

"I have some discomfort with the lack of definition as to who is doing what.

There is no policy to check the vehicles that the dealers are putting on the road. There should be some sort of spot checking to ensure that even the tourists are safe on bikes.'' Sen. Norma Astwood (Ind) added that there had to be some way in which a dealer could delegate authority to a licensed authority.