Help reduce fuel import bill

It is possible for the island’s significant fuel import bill to be reduced if Barbadians engage in good driving habits.

Consultant driver/trainer, Junior Jordan, said while he is concerned about Barbados’ $700 million fuel import bill, it is “highly possible” for Barbadians to play their role in the reduction of this worrying figure.

“It is high, and I understand it fluctuates, but certainly, $700 million in any language is a lot of money. It is really a staggering amount, and we as a people need in our own neck of the woods to do something about it incrementally.
“It will not happen overnight, because you have to change people’s habits in terms of getting them to understand that a functioning vehicle that is fuel efficient will make a difference,” Jordan said.

The past president of the Barbados Road Safety Association noted that car pooling, minimising unnecessary trips, limiting the use of the air conditioner, refraining from overloading the vehicle and training commercial drivers in the area of defensive driving, are just some of the steps that can be taken towards the overall reduction of the bill.

“But what covers all of this is training for drivers who would drive inside the speed limit, who would understand the importance of not speeding, who will understand the importance of an efficiently operated vehicle,” he explained.

Jordan, who addressed this issue as he delivered a lunchtime lecture, held at the Democratic Labour Party’s George Street, Belleville, St. Michael headquarters on Friday, said a major challenge in reducing the fuel import bill was that too many private and public service vehicles that are not working efficiently travel on the island’s roads every day.

He said one visible sign that a vehicle is not working properly is the black smoke from a vehicle’s exhaust, which means that the engine is burning too much fuel.

On that note, the consultant driver/trainer stressed that Barbadians must follow the manufacturer’s specifications and recommendations on how to effectively maintain the vehicle, in order to ensure it is fuel efficient.

“I don’t know the ratio of Barbados’ overall amount of vehicles on the road, which is about 130 to 140 000 vehicles, but certainly, if you have a significant number of vehicles inefficiently working, they will need to go to the fuel station and fuel up more often,” Jordan said.

He said while he was not in a position to directly speak about the impact the high fuel bill was having on the economy, to his knowledge, purchasing fuel oversees results in foreign exchange leaving the island.

“Obviously, foreign exchange is needed to run any island. And the more foreign exchange that is going out to fuel is needed for other things. So really, a reduction in the fuel import bill is foreign exchange going towards something else,” he said. (AH)