Twelve days into the New Year, the territory has already seen at least two motorcycle-related accidents, according to Dariel Robinson, who heads the Road Policing Department of the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force.
At least three men have died in such accidents since 2013, and several others were seriously injured.
“The problem that we have with scooter riders is that they are not complying with any of the laws that govern traffic: They are riding in and out of traffic,” Mr. Robinson lamented. “They’re not stopping at the red lights; they don’t care about anything. I think they are probably not aware that the law of the land refers to them too as traffic. The same law that governs motor vehicles governs the motorcycles.”
A large part of the problem is obvious: About four out of every five motorcycles stopped by police are unlicensed, he said, and many riders don’t have a motorcycle licence themselves. The solution, however, is less clear.
Education
The Department of Motor Vehicles — which administered only 30 motorcycle exams in 2015, the most recent year for which numbers are available — has been working to educate the public about the rules for riders, DMV Commissioner Kye Rymer said Monday.
“In house, we’ve found it necessary to try to get into the schools to educate persons as to the process,” Mr. Rymer said. “We have also changed our written exam so that it’s more an educational exam as to what the road rules are and what is expected of motorists.
We’ve been encouraging persons to come and actually go through the process and get their motorcycle licence.”
But the task of enforcing those requirements on the road falls to the police, the DMV commissioner said.
“We collaborate very well, we speak often, we share information,” he said of the DMV’s relationship with the police force. “I just think the laws kind of need to fall in line with what we are trying to obtain in terms of more licensed, legal riders on the roadways.”
Enforcement
But enforcing the existing laws often proves challenging, Mr. Robinson explained.
“If you chase the man on the scooter and you get into an accident or in the process you get into an accident, which is greater?” the police officer asked while explaining that chasing offenders isn’t always a wise idea. “What we try to do as an organisation is to find other means to tackle the scooters instead of endangering the other motoring public. … Most of the scooters have tags on them, but the problem with the tags [is] when you check, they’re not licensed — but then they have a previous owner.”
Because of such infractions, the RVIPF has seized dozens of motorcycles, some of which are stored at the Road Town Police Station.
But given the difficulty of chasing down offenders, the seizures alone won’t solve the problem, according to the officer.
Because many offenders are young men, parents also have a role to play, Messrs. Robinson and Rymer agreed.
“They need to make sure [children] go and get the requisite licence to get the scooters,” Mr. Robinson said. “Parents just buy it, give it to them: They get the permit and that’s it. They don’t look back. Parents need to be assertive.”
But good parenting won’t necessarily solve the problem either, said Tortola Race Wars President Dr. Carl Dawson.
“Even if some parents don’t give money for this stuff, some of the children work in the summer, buy a scooter and leave it at their friends’ houses,” Dr. Dawson said.
School visits
In order to assist, the TRW, a non-profit group of motor vehicle enthusiasts, recently organised school visits to educate young riders on road safety.
“The angle was to educate the kids, because they are mostly the ones going up and down stunting and going in and out of traffic,” he said.
The school discussions centered largely around the proper use of helmets, Dr. Dawson explained.
Many motorcycle riders wear “shell helmets,” which are often used as props in movies and are considerably cheaper than safer options that completely cover the face, he explained. The shell helmets, he added, don’t provide adequate protection.
Though making time to volunteer is sometimes challenging, the TRW plans to visit more schools this year.
“What we are trying to do is to reduce the number of scooter and car accidents,” Dr. Dawson explained.
{fcomment}