THE EDITOR, Sir:
THE NEWS last week contains two stories, which are particularly disturbing. These stories of course deal with death. The death of a motorcyclist at Dover, a Jamaican doing what he loves best and unfortunately coming to an untimely end. I refer also to the case of the young motorcyclist who died on Molynes Road and following his death the demise of a bus driver shot by the dead motorcyclist's cronies.
It is easy to be sorry about what happened and to issue condolences to all around but I think it is time to pause, to reflect on these accidents to see if there is any thing that could be done to prevent the fatalities.
In reading the newspaper stories I have not yet found any account which establishes if motorcyclists were wearing an approved helmet. I therefore, put forward the following questions:
a. Were any of the motorcyclists wearing helmets? If the answer is
yes, then,
b. Was it an approved helmet? If the answer is yes, then
c. Were they properly fitted? If the answer to that is yes, then
d. Were they recently checked by an approved facility to see if they meet the safety standards that were established when the helmets were made.
It would seem to me that if the motorcyclist at Dover lost his life when his head hit a rock then something must have gone wrong with that helmet. Was it on? Did it fly off? Or was it ill-fitted? In regard to the motorcyclist on Molynes Road, was he wearing a helmet? If he was not wearing a helmet, would wearing a helmet have prevented his death? These are important questions, because I think if that cyclist was not wearing a helmet and died as a result of a head injury, then the family of the bus driver who was shot by his cronies would seem to me to have some case against the police who by their negligence have decided not to prosecute motorcyclists who break the law and continue to parade around this island without helmets or in some cases wear helmets that are flimsy, not approved, and provide absolutely no protection in case of an accident.
I think these questions should be addressed by the relevant authorities and we, the people, should be informed about the law regarding the wearing of motorcycle helmets and the action of the police in giving a 'bly' to those who do not.
I am, etc.,
Dr. PAUL WRIGHT
New Kingston
