Open letter to the Honorable Minister of Land &Transport.

It is with a huge degree of frustration and desperation with which we, the car scene community of Mauritius, write this letter. If past experience is anything to go by, we will not expect the courtesy of an answer,or even an acknowledgement, however we would be happy just to have you read and take note of the concerns expressed. 

If one has regard to the dismal performance over the last few years, one sees glaring, obvious and hugely costly mistakes, mistakes that can only be described as shameful, dangerous and wasteful with regards for our precious resources. Our appalling accident rate is by far the most glaring indictment.

Lets begin with our road traffic, the “road safety” campaigns, “road safety" is a tired old war horse that gets dragged out every festive season or after catastrophes, and the net result is, even more people die each and every year!! At what point do we decide that maybe just maybe we are approaching this whole thing wrong? The old adage speed kills, we have news for you Honorable Bodha, speed does not kill, it's the sudden stop that kills people, we know that this sounds trite and perhaps a little condescending, and we are by no means making light of the issue, but what stops vehicles, all vehicles are brakes!!!! Lately, we received numerous complaints that some comrades have been refused their annual "Fitness" because they modify their braking systems to a better aftermarket system. This makes no sense at all if the goals you set to the nation is less accidents. How can you make us, aficionados of car modifications relate to your new set of rules, while your officers are clearly banning premium security aftermarkets parts such as coilovers (better suspensions), larger wheels, braking systems and all other parts. 

Let's make a 'constat des lieux' of recent car accidents in Mauritius. Car Tuners merely made it to the 1% of car accidents in 2015. Why so? Because we spend a lot of time in the garage and a lot of money in better parts so that we have a better security. Security is paramount for all car tuners. Yes, we will say it again. Security is paramount for all car tuners. We do not drive recklessly and we take big care of our cars. We are car lovers. We do not wreck our cars. Tuners are not 'ragers'.

So remind us why are you banning so many car parts that your own officers do not even have any experiences in? To prevent accidents? Please, we need more reasons since accidents are not really a result of car tuning. Like we mentioned above, tuners are rarely involved in car accidents. Young people who are concerned in accidents are not tuners. Bus drivers are not tuners. Rich people driving high end cars are not tuners. Drunk drivers are not tuners. We have to stop these amalgams. 

Now let's talk about the tone set at the NTA Fitness centres. We heard that people with modify wheels, engines, car parts, suspension heights are being refused their fitness. While we see old buses, nay, death traps getting their fitness, we do not understand how can you refuse a chap who dedicated his whole life earnings in his car, because he spend a lot of time and money making his car safer. Please make us reconcile with that.

Concerning another matter, a serious one. How in the world, is a sun shield or window tinting illegal in a country like Mauritius? Do you know how hot it is to stay put in the traffic jam of Port Louis for over an hour? We have skin just like you Honorable Bodha, it is inconceivable that window tinting and sun shields are illegal in a tropical country with a high dose of humidity. We understand the security aspects of it but do not banned it simply. Not all people can stay in air conditioners at the back while a driver and 2 escort motorcycles making way to take us to work everyday like you sir. Please have a little decency for us the little people. At least restore it with a simple 25% tinting in front so that we can breathe a little as well.

Our final concern is the banning of engine change. In an economy where the thousands are merely meeting ends, it is with great disappointment that we now hear that it is illegal to change an old engine. Regardless of what happened in the falsified horsepower where which no car tuners were involved, it is with much regret that we have to be deprived because of a handful rich fellows who do not want to pay more road taxes. You have to understand that this ban is not only a concern to us car tuners but also to a thousand business owners who imports car parts and engines and to the thousand of mechanics who's job depends on this. By banning engine change, you are also putting thousands of jobs in the line.

Dear Honorable Bodha, we are not saying that you should remove all these laws. However, we would be grateful if you could implement a set of strict criteria where we can at least enjoy our passion. We are not drug addicts, party people or whatever hobby/addictions people have. We love cars. Our passion is our cars. We are the car scene community and we represent thousand and thousand of votes.

We do hope that the above gives you some food for thought, and perhaps we can expect the National Department to take the lead in addressing the issues and invites us at the table.

With Best Regards,

Brian Dholah

Co-Founder and Director of We Are Racing.

war.mauritius@gmail.com