Three Killed, Safety Concerns Rise Over Motorcycle Clubs

In the wake of Sunday’s fatal motorcycle crash that claimed three lives in Belize City, the Ministry of Transport says it is paying close attention to the growing presence of motorcycle clubs across the country while working to promote safer road use. While officials stress that motorcycle clubs have a right to operate and can serve as a positive outlet for riders, the ministry says it plans to strengthen engagement, education, and enforcement efforts to ensure Belize’s roads remain safe for both motorcyclists and the wider public. We spoke with Deputy Transport Officer Peter Williams for more details.

 

Peter Williams, Deputy Transport Officer

“In terms of communication with the groups, I am aware that a couple months ago, Mr. Chester Williams, the, the CEO for the ministry, met with them. And so perhaps it will require continued  engagement with these  motorcycle clubs. In truth, we do recognize the usefulness to a degree of the motorcycle clubs because it creates an avenue for us to be able to communicate with the young people, young men and women who are utilizing motorcycles and who are a part of these clubs. it’s not something that we necessarily need to fight against. The primary risk factors that we’ve observed is the driver behavior, right? It’s so difficult to be able to, to cure this issue of driver behavior without the educational component. We need to be able to disseminate the right information to persons because, as I mentioned before, enforcement is more than just bringing down the hammer, so to speak. Right? We need to ensure that  young people or all persons who are, are using our, our roadways understand the laws that govern the use of roads and understand the importance of those laws to our safety, to our wellbeing, and so on. When it comes to the issue of speeding and so on throughout the urban or rural areas the laws are clear as it relates to the speed limits, right? But I think sometimes persons take it for granted. Um, and they might say, “Well, if I’m on a motorcycle, I can drive up to 25 miles an hour within a municipality,” not understanding that while  the, the law gives a maximum of 25 miles an hour, that does not mean that you will just be driving around everywhere at that speed limit or higher. Because if you are involved in a collision, then you expose yourself to liability.”

 

The cause of Sunday’s tragic motorcycle accident remains under investigation.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

Watch the full newscast here: