WITH more than 1,400 motorcyclists having lost their lives on Jamaica’s roads since 2012 and reports indicating that more than 80 per cent of bikers who received fatal or severe injuries in crashes were not wearing helmets, the Jamaica Observer talked to a few bikers in Westmoreland about their take on wearing the protective gear.

A biker from Trelawny, Brenton Smith, who spoke to the Sunday Observer shared that he
believes he is alive today because he was not wearing a helmet five years ago when he was involved in a motor vehicle collision that resulted in him breaking his jaw, losing half his teeth and breaking his nose.

The team also asked bikers in Westmoreland if they share the same view as Smith. Check out what some of them had to say.

Leon “Zuba” from Grange Hill

“Helmets can save your life a lot, because wah day when I pass a wall and ah stone fling and ah mi helmet it lick. Look pan di side [of the helmet and] you’ll see where it chap. If ah inna mi head, mi dead,” said Leon.

“Helmet is very important to every biker. So what the man ah say that if him had on di helmet, him neck bruk, mi nah come to dat. Dat ah stupidness. Helmet very important. Mi advise every biker fi ride wid dem helmet, because dat can save dem life,” added Leon.

Kevaughn from Grange Hill

“Mi hardly ride inna helmet. Mi nuh like helmet. Wasp fly in ah di helmet already and cause mi fi crash. Mi nuh trust it [helmet], but mi have to wear it because of the police,” stated Kevaughn.

“Helmet can kill you. It not only can save you, because if you are riding and lick up in something, it can take your head off your body. That is why nuff man lose them head in the helmet when them crash.”

Clive Hawthorne from Grange Hill

“Ah borrow mi just borrow one helmet. Mi nuh wear dem ting enuh. Ah because of police mi put it on; them ah force wi fi wear something that can accidentally save wi,” stated Hawthorne.

“It can save your head if you get a little injury, but at the end of the day it depends on how you get the lick, because the helmit can crick you neck, depending on the type of helmit you are wearing,” he added.

André from Little London

“I have a helmet on my bike right now. I 100 per cent recommend to other bikers to wear their helmet, because it is safe. It is important to wear your helmet at all times when riding your bike because once your head hit the road/asphalt, it is a no-no, but if you have on an helmit, you have a chance to survive the accident,” stated André.

In relation to whether he agrees with the statement by the biker from Trelawny, André said, “It depends on how the accident occur. It can break your neck, but not necessarily. It is more protecting you than breaking your neck.”