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| Samoa drivers brace for left turn | Samoa drivers brace for left turn |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| By Michael Dobie BBC News | By Michael Dobie BBC News |
| A chorus of wailing sirens and ringing bells will signal Samoa's attempt to do something no country has tried since the 1970s. | A chorus of wailing sirens and ringing bells will signal Samoa's attempt to do something no country has tried since the 1970s. |
| Bus owners are angry they will have to convert their vehicles | Bus owners are angry they will have to convert their vehicles |
| From Monday morning, drivers in the Pacific island nation will steer their cars to the left-hand side of roads, instead of the right-hand side they are currently driving on. | From Monday morning, drivers in the Pacific island nation will steer their cars to the left-hand side of roads, instead of the right-hand side they are currently driving on. |
| The government has pitched the change as economically beneficial, but critics say it will lead to traffic mayhem. | The government has pitched the change as economically beneficial, but critics say it will lead to traffic mayhem. |
| Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi has said the move will allow the tens of thousands of expatriate Samoans living in New Zealand and Australia to send used cars - with steering wheels on the right side of vehicles - to their families back home. | Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi has said the move will allow the tens of thousands of expatriate Samoans living in New Zealand and Australia to send used cars - with steering wheels on the right side of vehicles - to their families back home. |
| It will also allow used cars to be imported from Japan, which also drives on the left. | It will also allow used cars to be imported from Japan, which also drives on the left. |
| Cars will become cheaper and more people in rural areas will be able to obtain vehicles to help them develop their land, the government reasons, the government says. | Cars will become cheaper and more people in rural areas will be able to obtain vehicles to help them develop their land, the government reasons, the government says. |
| Cars are going to crash, people are going to die - not to mention the huge expense to our country Tole'afoa Solomona Toa'iloa | Cars are going to crash, people are going to die - not to mention the huge expense to our country Tole'afoa Solomona Toa'iloa |
| "The switch in the side of the road for driving is a policy for the development and improvement of life for all the people of Samoa," the prime minister said in August. | "The switch in the side of the road for driving is a policy for the development and improvement of life for all the people of Samoa," the prime minister said in August. |
| Of fewer than 20,000 vehicles on Samoa's roads, about 4,000 are right-hand drive, with half of those recently imported, says Keni Lesa, editor of the Samoa Observer. | Of fewer than 20,000 vehicles on Samoa's roads, about 4,000 are right-hand drive, with half of those recently imported, says Keni Lesa, editor of the Samoa Observer. |
| The rest are left-hand drive vehicles built to be driven on the right side of the road, imported from the US and neighbouring American Samoa. | The rest are left-hand drive vehicles built to be driven on the right side of the road, imported from the US and neighbouring American Samoa. |
| Signs removed | Signs removed |
| The proposed changeover has split opinion in Samoa, with opponents predicting traffic mayhem as confused drivers forget which lane to pull into and pedestrians look the wrong way before crossing roads. | The proposed changeover has split opinion in Samoa, with opponents predicting traffic mayhem as confused drivers forget which lane to pull into and pedestrians look the wrong way before crossing roads. |
| "Cars are going to crash, people are going to die - not to mention the huge expense to our country," says lawyer Tole'afoa Solomona Toa'iloa, who has headed a legal challenge in the Supreme Court against the constitutionality of the plan for protest group People Against Switching Sides (Pass). | "Cars are going to crash, people are going to die - not to mention the huge expense to our country," says lawyer Tole'afoa Solomona Toa'iloa, who has headed a legal challenge in the Supreme Court against the constitutionality of the plan for protest group People Against Switching Sides (Pass). |
| Traffic analysts testifying in court agreed that more accidents were likely to occur. | Traffic analysts testifying in court agreed that more accidents were likely to occur. |
| ROAD SWITCH FACTS One-third of the world drives on the leftAll recent changes have been to the rightSweden went right in 1967Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Ghana went right in the 1970s | ROAD SWITCH FACTS One-third of the world drives on the leftAll recent changes have been to the rightSweden went right in 1967Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Ghana went right in the 1970s |
| New Zealand crash investigator Graham Williams said there would be more accidents on Samoa's narrow, pot-holed rural roads, which are often obscured by vegetation. | New Zealand crash investigator Graham Williams said there would be more accidents on Samoa's narrow, pot-holed rural roads, which are often obscured by vegetation. |
| "Based on my experience and from what I've seen during my trips to Samoa, come 7 September, there will be a dramatic increase in the number of road crashes," he told the court. | "Based on my experience and from what I've seen during my trips to Samoa, come 7 September, there will be a dramatic increase in the number of road crashes," he told the court. |
| Local bus owners are also furious about having to either buy new vehicles or convert their old ones - by cutting new doors on the left side behind the driver so passengers don't have to step off into the middle of the road. | Local bus owners are also furious about having to either buy new vehicles or convert their old ones - by cutting new doors on the left side behind the driver so passengers don't have to step off into the middle of the road. |
| One bus company owner has threatened to set his vehicles alight in protest. | One bus company owner has threatened to set his vehicles alight in protest. |
| Several villages have declared they will force cars to switch to the left to pass through and in some places new signs directing drivers to keep left have been removed and directional arrows on the road have been painted over to point the wrong way. | Several villages have declared they will force cars to switch to the left to pass through and in some places new signs directing drivers to keep left have been removed and directional arrows on the road have been painted over to point the wrong way. |
| Complaints have also been raised about the cost. Samoa's Chamber of Commerce estimates that it will cost at least $300m (£185m) in direct and indirect costs to the Samoan economy. | Complaints have also been raised about the cost. Samoa's Chamber of Commerce estimates that it will cost at least $300m (£185m) in direct and indirect costs to the Samoan economy. |
| The Chamber of Commerce also questioned the benefits to the agricultural sector, saying that most vehicles in Australia and New Zealand are sedans and wagons and not pick-up trucks or utility vehicles. | The Chamber of Commerce also questioned the benefits to the agricultural sector, saying that most vehicles in Australia and New Zealand are sedans and wagons and not pick-up trucks or utility vehicles. |
| Critics also say the government has failed to consult the public on the change or conduct any feasibility studies. | Critics also say the government has failed to consult the public on the change or conduct any feasibility studies. |
| Last-ditch appeal | Last-ditch appeal |
| Opposition to the changeover has lost some steam however, since April last year when an estimated 18,000 people - about 10% of Samoa's population - demonstrated in the capital, Apia. | Opposition to the changeover has lost some steam however, since April last year when an estimated 18,000 people - about 10% of Samoa's population - demonstrated in the capital, Apia. |
| Last week the Supreme Court rejected the legal challenge from Pass and another rally on Monday drew only 500 people. | Last week the Supreme Court rejected the legal challenge from Pass and another rally on Monday drew only 500 people. |
| Pass president Lefau Waikaimoana So'onalolole said Samoa was not ready and necessary roadwork had not been finished. | Pass president Lefau Waikaimoana So'onalolole said Samoa was not ready and necessary roadwork had not been finished. |
| "The efforts to prepare for the road switch are nowhere near completed," he said. | "The efforts to prepare for the road switch are nowhere near completed," he said. |
| "Not only that, but I believe there is much work to be done in educating everybody about the switch." | "Not only that, but I believe there is much work to be done in educating everybody about the switch." |
| Could some of these Australian cars end up in Samoa? | Could some of these Australian cars end up in Samoa? |
| But Prime Minister Tuilaepa turned down a last-ditch appeal to delay the switch. | But Prime Minister Tuilaepa turned down a last-ditch appeal to delay the switch. |
| "Many preparations have been carried out," he said after a special cabinet meeting held to consider the appeal. | "Many preparations have been carried out," he said after a special cabinet meeting held to consider the appeal. |
| "A repeated request to government from the wider public has been to start the switch on the scheduled date to make it quicker for the country to become familiar to the changes." | "A repeated request to government from the wider public has been to start the switch on the scheduled date to make it quicker for the country to become familiar to the changes." |
| He has declared a special two-day holiday on 7 and 8 September to provide time for people to adjust to the change. | He has declared a special two-day holiday on 7 and 8 September to provide time for people to adjust to the change. |
| "I would envisage at 0550 [on 7 September] we will have a kind speech through the television and then exactly at 0600 the call will go, sirens and church bells will ring," he said. | "I would envisage at 0550 [on 7 September] we will have a kind speech through the television and then exactly at 0600 the call will go, sirens and church bells will ring," he said. |
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