Transport Ministry Outlines Rules for Moving Houses on Belize Highways

Transport Ministry CEO Chester Williams has outlined the safety requirements for moving houses along Belize’s highways, including limits on their width, proper lighting and escort vehicles. His explanation comes amid recently renewed concern about the risks these movements pose to other road users following fatal collisions involving houses being transported.  Williams says the standard conditions allow houses to be moved intact at widths of no more than twenty feet. 

Williams also clarified how the permit system ordinarily works. He says permits for oversized loads are generally issued annually, rather than separately for every trip. Operators must still comply with the conditions attached to those permits.

The issue drew fresh attention after Police Sergeant Ponce died in a collision involving a house being transported near Cotton Tree Village on October 10. There have been other fatal incidents. In December last year, thirty-eight-year-old Dean Perez died after his SUV collided with a house being transported near mile eighteen on the George Price Highway. That crash followed another fatal collision involving a transported house on the Southern Highway, which claimed the life of Pastor Julian Bol.  Williams has acknowledged gaps in enforcement. He also said officials were considering requiring operators to notify the Department of Transport before each house movement, allowing an inspection even where an annual permit is already in place.