Vegas renews call for ban on pillion riders

Veteran dancehall artiste Mr Vegas has renewed his call for the Government to impose a ban on pillion riders on motorcycles.

The Heads High deejay made the call following the death of his close friend, well-known paralegal Sandra Risden last month.

Risden, who worked at the law firm Nunes, Scholefield, DeLeon & Co, was shot by a man who was a passenger aboard a motorcycle.

"I am of the opinion that the Government of Jamaica should prioritise steps to stop or decrease the weaponisation of motorcycles," Mr Vegas said.

The Jamaican Bar Association (JAMBAR) in January said the Government should seriously consider a proposal by dancehall artiste Mr Vegas for a ban on pillion riders on motorcycles.

"Of course, it can be tweaked: for example, no male pillion or no adult pillion, or institute restrictions based on engine size. These measures have been adopted with good outcomes by other countries such as Colombia. We should explore them," JAMBAR said.

The suggestion has been scoffed at by some members of the society, who pointed at the importance of bike taxis as a mode of transportation in some area. Mr Vegas, however, is firm in his mind that pillion riders should not be allowed on motorcycles, to reduce the possibility of criminal attacks. He said that Parliament could begin by instituting the law in "hot zones", while making exemptions for other areas.

"We can tek out places and say a just town [Kingston] the wickedness deh, but down a Savanna-la-Mar, [Westmoreland] down a MoBay [St James], things still a gwaane. But dem thing deh should be taken up with members of parliament to get the necessary changes in dem constituencies. Dem haffi put forward measures where it is legal for taxi operators to operate," he said.

Former Senior Superintendent of Police in charge of Traffic, Radcliffe Lewis, has long called for a ban motorcycles from having a pillion rider as a crime-fighting measure.

Similarly, Superintendent Robert Gordon, former commanding officer for the Westmoreland Police Division, in 2020 said criminals use motorcycles to carry out their nefarious activities.

"Wherever you see two persons on a motorcycle, particularly two males, it is highly probable that they have either committed an offence, or they are about to commit an offence, because that is the module of most of the offences that are being committed in the parish," Gordon said.

Mr Vegas reasoned that prior to the promulgation of the new Road Traffic Act last year, persons needed only a learner's licence to drive a motorcycle. He argued that many of the persons who ride motorcycles have only learner's permit and are breaking the law by carrying pillion riders.

Under the new Road Traffic Act, one pillion rider is allowed on motorcycles. However, the driver must possess a valid motorcycle driver's licence.

Mr Vegas said he is fully aware of the potential hue and cry that is likely but insisted, "I am not flabbergasted by the repulsive rhetoric by persons who disagree with this proposal".