With motorcycle fatalities currently accounting for more than 30 per cent of accident fatalities, the Jamaica National Foundation (JNF) and the National Road Safety Council (NRSC) have combined forces to create the National Helmet Wearing Coalition (NHWC).

The initiative to heighten awareness on motorcycle safety was launched on Thursday, March 21 at AC Hotel, Kingston.

“The national helmet wearing project is a vital initiative to address the increasing number of fatalities and injuries among motorcycle drivers in Jamaica,” said Earl Jarrett, director, JN Foundation.

The NHWC was established with funding from the FIA Foundation on August 2023 and is a three-year project to help reduce fatalities amongst motorcycle users in Jamaica.

Jarrett explained that, since 2019, motorcycle fatalities have skyrocketed based on data from the Island Traffic Authority’s Annual Crash Reports. That year 150 motorcycle drivers and pillion riders died. These numbers peaked at 180 in 2021.

For 2024, out of the 91 road accident fatalities so far, motorcycle drivers and pillion drivers represent 37.

Further, data from the Island Traffic Authority’s revealed that in crashes involving motorcycles, 80 per cent of the fatalities were not wearing helmets. Even more troubling was the age group affected, males between the ages of 19 to 29 years old.

The NHWC will focus on public education surrounding the benefits and proper use of helmets, data collection, and legislative advocacy in terms of setting helmet standards and their enforcement.

In a survey last year, JN Foundation discovered that, while 82 per cent of the motorcyclists who partook in the study acknowledged the importance of wearing a helmet, 60 per cent of them didn’t wear one every time they drove a bike. This climbed to 83 per cent among pillion riders. Forty-two per cent had no idea there were even helmet standards.

“An unsafe helmet is just as bad as no helmet at all,” said Saul Billingsley, executive director, FIA Foundation.

He added that Jamaica was not the only country suffering from this issue, noting that motorcycle drivers and pillion riders accounted for 28 per cent of all regional road fatalities motorcycles.