Saba must deal with St. Martin
on Saba driver’s licence issue
PHILIPSBURG--Police authorities in St. Maarten say it is the Saba Government’s responsibility to deal with French authorities on the issue of Saba drivers’ licences not being accepted in French St. Martin for whatever reason.
Police spokesman in St. Maarten Chief Inspector Johan “Janchi” Leonard told The Daily Herald Wednesday in an invited comment that Dutch St. Maarten had already raised concerns in the past over its residents obtaining drivers’ licences in Saba. He said the problem was mostly administrative; as far as he could recall, it had to do with people having “The Bottom, Saba” as their address on their drivers’ licences although they lived in St. Maarten.
Outside of that, he said, Saba licences are Netherlands Antilles licences and are recognised as such. He said the Saba government would have to ask what would happen if a Saba resident went to French St. Martin for a vacation or a visit and decided to drive.
He said Article 107.3 of the Traffic Ordinance stated, “Drivers’ licences issued in Holland, Suriname, other island territories of the Netherlands Antilles, and Aruba are equal to the St. Maarten licence.”
He said that law had been amended on August 1, but the only change was that Suriname had been dropped from the listed countries. St. Maarten, Saba and Statia licences are equal to Holland licences.
He said he had no knowledge of anyone living in St. Maarten with a locally-issued driver’s licence being harassed. He also said a Holland national who resided in St. Maarten had the right to drive in St. Maarten with his/her Holland licence for up to five years, but the license would not be valid in St. Maarten after five years, although it might still be valid in Holland, according to the law.
He said when a Holland licence had been held in St. Maarten for five years and had expired, the licence holder must go through the procedure of having a new licence issued locally.
