JamaicaMember of Parliament for St Mary Central, Dr. Morais Guy, wants the relevant authorities to immediately take steps to deal with the problem of the excessively loud motorcycles that are creating a noise nuisance in communities across the country.
Guy spoke to the matter on Wednesday as he made his contribution to the State of the Constituency Debate in the House of Representatives.
“There is one other issue I wish to speak on which affects each and every one of us in this chamber,” said Guy as he neared the end of his presentation.
Continuing, he said: “None of us can but hear the loud noise that the motorbikes make when they careen around the roads.”
The opposition spokesman on health noted that the noise is due to the removal of the silencers from the muffler of the motorcycles.
“This noise nuisance is one that can be arrested now and one which the police and Island Traffic Authority can intervene in, with the appropriate equipment,” Guy stated.
He argued that society has become too lawless and warned that it stems from “turning a blind eye to small infractions of the law”.
“If we continue to do what we have been doing, no doubt the lawbreakers become more emboldened and engage in bigger and more serious crimes. Time to nip that in the bud,” Guy remarked.
In September 2020, a petition was launched urging the government to ban the popular ‘Yeng Yeng’ motorcycles in Jamaica.
At the time, the petitioner argued, among other things, the bikes were being used increasingly to commit criminal acts.
Other countries in the region have either spoken out against owners of the noisy bikes or have taken steps to ensure that bikers do not create a noise pollution problem.
In January this year the Premier of the British Virgin Islands, Andrew Fahie, warned bikers to put silencers on their motorcycles, lest there be repercussions from his government.
Fahie said then that the bikers should take measures to silence their bikes or the government would be forced to put measures in place to monitor them.
“Those of you with these loud motorbikes that are going into these areas late-night and afternoon, it is a nuisance! And I’m asking you to put on a silencer on your bike and avoid these areas. We, as a government, don’t want to have to put measures in place for this. So I’m asking with a clarion call to all bikers to put on a silencer on their bikes and stop this loud noise all around the place,” Fahie said while speaking in the House of Assembly.
He lamented that the elderly were most affected by noise pollution.
