More than 400 motorcycle riders have died on Jamaica’s roads in the past four years, but still, bikers continue to put their lives at risk, creating a major challenge to other road users, and it appears that neither the police nor the Road Safety Unit in the Ministry of Transport have a clue how to put the brakes on them.

In fact, neither of the two is certain how many motorcycles are operating on the nation’s street each day, and the Insurance Association of Jamaica (IAJ) says at the end of last year only 9,470 motorcycles had been insured by its members.

Kenute Hare, director of the Road Safety Unit, says his conservative estimate is that there are more than 20,000 bikes operating in Jamaica, but Superintendent Courtney Coubrie of the police Public Safety and Traffic Enforcement Branch, believes 20,000 is just a fraction of the motorcycles on the streets.

They both agreed, however, that the vast majority of the motorcycles operating in Jamaica are not registered or insured.

“I’m fully aware that they are operating without any form of papers. This is a phenomenon prevalent across the country and even more so in the western parishes of Hanover and Westmoreland,” Hare told the Jamaica Observer.

This was underscored by Coubrie, who noted that while the police can seize motorbikes that are not licensed, they cannot seize them because they are uninsured.

“We have more than 600 motorbikes seized in Westmoreland alone. Similarly in the Corporate Area, you will see several police stations with bikes that we have seized. But remember, we cannot seize vehicles for no insurance coverage,” added Coubrie.

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/motorcycle-madness_165459