HIGHLY patriotic and aspiring to give back to his nation, Junior Chin is taking a 360 approach to drivers’ education offered locally. From an innate intrigue of motor cars to spending the past six years developing the requisite skills to become an expert and thought leader in the field, the St Elizabeth native is ready to lead the revamp of the well-needed paradigm shift in how drivers’ education is processed by Jamaicans.

A member of the Amalgamated Transit Union 113, where he worked with the largest transit company in Canada, The Toronto Transit Commission, Chin transferred this knowledge which led to the establishment of the locally operated New Method Driving Academy. He also operates a Canadian ministry-approved driving school in over eight cities across Ontario, Canada, where he has trained hundreds of novice and experienced drivers alike.

Chin’s quest to ignite the appreciation of a theory-based approach to processing Jamaica’s road traffic rules and road code also includes the publication of a modernised comprehensive driver training guide, Jamaica’s Driver’s Education Forum. Currently available in print and as an E-book on Amazon and Barnes&Noble, the content is also in the process of being transposed to an exciting e-learning video content platform to allow a multi-faceted interactive approach to local drivers’ education.

The Humber College of Canada graduate passionately shared that his love for transportation runs deep, dating back 22 years ago. “To as far as my mind could allow, I have vivid memories of driving in buses and vehicles from St Elizabeth to Kingston to visit my family as young as nine years old. I always wanted to sit close to the driver so I could see what he was doing. Little did I know that I was fulfilling and fuelling a greater purpose in my life at that point. On the days I didn’t travel, I would use my body to mimic the buses and my hands as the steering wheels. I would make hand-push carts in the countryside with wheels from baby strollers just to have a feel of the car.”

A proficient transportation engineer, he commented that he always had a special love to make the transportation sector better, and operating motor vehicles felt inborn.

“I watched drivers and my dad when they operated the motor vehicle, and when my dad placed me around a steering wheel it felt like a dream. I knew exactly what to do. Driving became my hobby and it is my happy place.”

His fascination transcended vehicular operation and technical proportions to the entrepreneurial side of the sector.

“I owned taxis, tour buses, and public transport buses in Jamaica, all in search of my greater purpose. I had my aha moment after being exposed to a rather developed transport system in Toronto, Canada, in 2016. I was inspired to not only learn their approach but was motivated to also implement a similar system and approach in my country for their development and a step closer in being a developed nation. My choice for becoming a transport engineer was to complete the puzzle of making driver education more affordable and accessible for Jamaicans.”

Speaking further to the publication of Jamaica’s Driver’s Education Forum, he described it as being designed to be visually appealing to make the content easier to process. “I am a visual learner and so I appreciate all learning styles, so I wanted to create something very user-friendly that catered to a wide cross section of people. It is my short-term goal to write a manual for commercial vehicles, such as tractor-trailers and buses, as well as one for motorbikes and pedestrians. I also intend to write a child-friendly book.”

Looking ahead, Chin detailed his desire to launch a driver education in schools programme in the coming weeks. “I believe the youngest minds are most impressionable. It is my intention to get every high school in Jamaica on board in training our Jamaican youth who are above the age of 16. The programme is designed to develop a deepened sense of appreciation for driver education as well as the theoretical components of driving among our country’s youth.”