Culture shift needed to curb risky motorcycle riding —JCF

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Changing the culture around motorcycle use, particularly among young men, is identified as critical to reducing unsafe riding practices and road fatalities in Jamaica. Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) and operations officer for the Traffic Enforcement Division of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), Marcus Graham, tells JIS News that some young riders engage in risky behaviour because they do not fully appreciate the potential consequences of their actions. "There are the joy riders; they just seem not to want to abide by the law.

They think that if I just get on my motorcycle and am being pursued by the officer, I'll just ride and escape. That is how they're thinking," he notes. He adds that some riders also dismiss the need for protective gear when making short trips.

"I think it's just the overall culture of Jamaicans, especially motorcyclists, not to wear a protective helmet. And they just ride a bike without shirt and in slippers. It's just a culture," Graham added.

Graham says road users between 18 and 29 years old are the most vulnerable, with many motorcycle riders falling within this age group. For her part, General Manager of JN Foundation Claudine Allen tells JIS News that she believes the issue goes beyond compliance with traffic laws and requires an examination of the social influences that shape the behaviour of young men. "The behaviour of our young men, including motorcycle drivers, is really indicative of certain other social issues that we have, how we raise our young boys to take risks," she says.

Both the JN Foundation and the JCF are members of the National Helmet Wearing Coalition (NHWC), a multi-sector partnership which has advanced the establishment of national helmet standards for Jamaica. Through the NHWC and other road-safety initiatives, stakeholders are seeking to address not only enforcement but the attitudes and behaviours that contribute to unsafe motorcycle use. Allen notes that risk-taking among young motorcycle riders is not unique to Jamaica.

""This kind of joy-riding culture that doesn't really embrace safety isn't unique to Jamaica. It is not that we're saying that something is solely wrong with our young men why they behave these ways. It is a human condition," she says.