The deaths of two young men within the last few weeks have again raised the issue of indiscriminate use of the road especially by individuals riding scooters and motorbikes.
Just recently, Wayne Orle, 26, of Soufriere and 19 year old Jaron Pascal of Stockfarm both lost their lives when they were involved in separate vehicular accidents involving motor scooters.
These latest accidents have again caught the attention of the Police and have been described as ‘troubling’ by Acting Assistant Superintendent of police, Ulando Cuffy.
“It’s troubling enough. The Police are doing what they have to do. A number of the scooters are of concern. We have a few of them which we can say that we do not have to pay any heed to, but the majority of them are of concern to us. They are of concern to the Police. They are of concern to Customs.
“A number of them are on the streets unregistered, unlicensed and uninsured, which tells us that a number of them did not pass through the customs and there are no documents to prove their existence,” he revealed.
According to ASP Cuffy, who is in charge of the Traffic Department, a number of these riders have no respect for road traffic regulations.
“Many of them cause accidents and traffic collisions. It is sad to say that a number of them kill themselves with these unlicensed motor scooters. Even if they are aware that they are not registered and unlicensed and uninsured, they still continue to break the traffic laws. It is evident for all to see. These riders disregard the traffic laws. They overtake anyhow and the Police are trying their best.
“We have confiscated a lot of them. There are many of them which are being held for investigation purposes because we need to follow up to see if they are truly legitimate to determine if they passed through Customs and to be on the street. I can tell you that many, many of them are not,” he further stated with a concerned look.
In an effort to deceive the Police, the riders resort to various measures so as to avoid tracing.
“The riders go to the extent that they even scratch off what we call the frame numbers and sometimes when we take them for investigation we cannot find a frame number. We have no choice but to keep them for investigation purposes and most of them have to be handed back to Customs.
“This has been going on for a lot of years now. You see some outside Traffic Department but there are many at Police Headquarters and there are many up at the Special Service Unit because we must keep them for safekeeping,” he pointed out.
As it relates to the ways of curbing this unwanted behavior and practice, ASP Cuffy had this to say.
“I believe that they will get the message because we are really strict on them. The way forward is that they will get the message and bring in those bikes legally by going through the Customs then to the Traffic Department to get it registered, licensed, and obviously insured. That is the way forward to keep on clamping on these motorcycles and that the owners or even those who think of doing it will get the message. Obviously, they will be prosecuted.
“The Police will do what they have to do. We issue tickets and then they are before the Courts and let the process take its course. Accidents do happen and accidents will happen. These riders must understand that they have to abide by the laws of the land.
“When one of their colleagues gets into an accident, they must not show up on the scene thinking that the law is for them to take control and that is why the police are summoned to traffic accidents and collisions. That is for the Police to do and not for their friends and that practice must stop,” he cautioned.
Meanwhile, Carlos Charles, who is the president of Nature Island Riders is of the view that the behavior of some of those bikers is a poor reflection on his organization and echoes the concerns of the Police.
“I would share the concerns of the Police since it also reflects badly on us. We do not condone those kinds of behaviors on the road. As a matter of fact, we encourage all our members to work within the confines of the law of the land. We don’t encourage riding indiscriminately on the roads. All our members are encouraged to use protective gear.
“I have been talking to them and we have been reaching out to them. Safety is the number one concern for us in our club. I would encourage them to stop that immediately since it is not something that should be encouraged in the country. It reflects badly on us and that is something that we want to change,” he revealed.