Lieutenant Commander (retd) George Overton, security expert and chairman of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) Standing Committee on National Security and Justice, is calling for greater funding of the motorcycle simulator programme in western Jamaica.

Overton, who was speaking at a press conference at the PSOJ headquarters on Thursday (February 15), said “There has been inadequate funding put towards the running motorcycle simulator programme in western Jamaica and the National Road Safety Council is left to operate this programme on their own budget with no special funding, no special arrangements for them to continue this effort with any earnest.”

In 2020, the government opened a motorcycle simulator programme building at the Petersfield Vocational Training Centre in Westmoreland, prompted by the higher number of road fatalities in the parish.

The programme allows authorities to deliver important content to riders while also assessing their physical capabilities and readiness.

“We call for the government to fund this programme. It is one that shows results, persons who had been through the programme we had little or no fatalities from members and participants of these programmes so we need the funding of it,” Overton stressed.

In 2023, Jamaica recorded 425 road fatalities, resulting from 384 fatal collisions.

The parishes of Westmoreland, St. Catherine, and St. Andrew accounted for the highest number of fatalities, while males accounted for 88 per cent of the fatalities last year.

Motorcyclists, pedestrians and private motor vehicle drivers were the top three road user categories with the highest number of road fatalities in 2023.