A training workshop by Sandals to reach motorcycle riders and passengers has been held in Negril — one of the most motorcycle-populated areas in the island. Whatever else might be occurring in other parishes, you have to work hard to equal Westmoreland in bike numbers. Major and minor roads reverberate with the buzzing sound of the bikes all over the parish, which could well be dubbed “Motorcycle Racetrack”.

It took me quite a while to get used to it, the last time I visited “Sav” (the popular abbreviation of Savanna-la-Mar). It is easy to be totally confused by the constant “bees buzz” sound as the vehicles rush by, especially in the tourist mecca of Negril, where “bike back” is the major form of transportation for tourists and natives alike.

The little, but lethal machines tear along the main thoroughfares and the various side roads, night and day, at breakneck speed. It is almost scary to see how many passengers there can be on the back of one bike, all without protective headgear.

Many of the bikes carry more than one passenger — man, woman and pickney wedged together on the pillion. All part of the safety requirements not regularly observed. Interestingly, these can be as overcrowded as a public passenger vehicle. Do not be surprised, however, to see bags and baggage being transported at the same time, wedged in behind the driver. Heavy luggage is not supposed to be there too, but who can stop them? The more the bikes, the more the urgency for good sense.

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/columns/Time-for-islandwide-motorcycle-safety_92715