Orville W. Taylor

I slammed on the brakes and since they are not the anti-lock type, the tyres answered with a screech or rather, since this is Jamaica the sound was an 'eerks!' The headlines in a number of media houses were featuring the recent study released by the Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO) and the National Road Safety Council (NRSC). Its major findings are that, like almost all of our other social problems, including crime and low academic performance, the greatest danger on the roads is young males.

Well, once again another foreign-directed study on Jamaican behaviour 'irks' me, not because it is untrue or inaccurate, but because it points to things that we have known but have not seriously addressed.

BUY-PASSING DRIVING TEST

Some of the findings indicate that 81 per cent of road fatalities involved male drivers of which 96 per cent were young males. Furthermore, 71 per cent of those who reported getting a 'bandoolu' driver's licence had had accidents. This compares with 40 per cent of those who did not 'buy-pass' the driving test. Most frightening was the fact that some 58 per cent of commercial drivers were taught informally. The figures of 53 per cent and 44 per cent respectively, obtain for taxi drivers and bus drivers. These last statistics are disturbing since these individuals are charged with the responsibility for other lives.

Just last week I met a JUTC bus driver who 'ran into me' quite casually. True, a lot of people meet in Cross Roads, but I am never comfortable with men who sneak up behind me whether in vehicles or not. Anyway, this driver was so clueless that although he stopped on a dime (which was on my back seat) he did not understand that he was obliged under the Road Traffic Act to produce his driver's licence when asked by the police. I had to ask, where did he get his training?

SCIENTIFIC QUESTIONS

Admittedly the study raises a number of scientific questions. First of all, it was conducted with a sample of 500 respondents. I have yet to read the study myself, but I would like to know what percentage of licensed drivers this represents. The smaller the sample the less valid the findings are. Second, to what extent has the number of accidents correlated to the increase in motor vehicles on the roads? Third, what is the percentage of drivers who are females versus those who are males? After all, if there are more male drivers then it is natural that there will be more accidents. Furthermore, women are less likely to drive outside their parish boundaries and especially don't like to drive cross country, generally opting to be driven by their spouses (or someone else's).

Then, of course, there are the invisible women with starched necks and magnetic steering wheels which pull them within inches of the dashboard when driving. These women are often accused of not being involved in accidents because they actually cause them and continue driving. However, this phenomenon has not been scientifically studied as far as I know. But I am familiar with quite a few.

There are other issues related to the formal learning process as well. There is no central certification body which regulates driving instruction. Many 'official' instructors only gear drivers towards passing an examination in a two-month period and don't truly teach them to drive. Tell me, how many new licensed drivers do you know that shuffle the steering wheel like a computer mouse? One harsh fact we need to impress unto new drivers is that holding a drivers' licence does not mean that you can drive. Real driving skill develops only with experience.

'BUMPER' PASSES

Nonetheless, the matter of corruption in the obtaining of licences is well known. How many female drivers are given passes because of a cute 'grill' or a nice 'bumper'? Questions need to be asked about the income levels of examiners as compared to their expenditure. Data relating to the number of certificates of competence issued must be juxtaposed against the number of drivers' licences ­ if the Government is determined to stamp out corruption that is.

Still, I would be remiss as a socio-logist if I did not recognise that there is indeed a problem with our young men. Due to poor mentoring and fathering, they express their manhood by bravado and recklessness. By the way, why do we say reckless when they tend to be 'wreckful'? Young women are taught to be more careful and caring and don't engage in dangerous escapades in order to impress a man.

We must put a brake on our boys.

Speaking of brakes, our ancestral home, Ghana, ended the World Cup hopes of the United States. As I have said over and over, Ghana is where the largest block of slaves were brought from and it is evident in our culture. We speak a patois that is structurally and syntactically very close to Twi, which is spoken by the majority of the Ghanians. Furthermore, words such as 'patoo', 'dukunu', 'unuu' and obeah (obeyi) are all Ashanti words. Did you know that they even cut their oranges with a little piece at the top like we do? They even speak a kind of Creole that is similar to our Jamaican. As an example, for the English, "I am coming!", they say "A deh come!"

Yet, despite the obvious cultural link I am sorry to see the U.S. depart. I have far more American friends and relatives and many more Jamaicans play soccer in 'farrin' than in Ghana.

Anyway, from a sporting perspective all is not lost. The Miami Heat won the NBA championship. Florida has one of the largest concentrations of Jamaicans in the U.S.

Dr. Orville Taylor is senior lecturer in the Department of Sociology, Psychology and Social Work at the University of the West Indies, Mona.