Former Assistant Superintendent of Police, Ainsworth Irish, has issued a call to the Government of Dominica to make the wearing of helmets mandatory for motorcycle users.

Irish’s statement comes in light of a number of accidents involving motorcycles over the Christmas weekend.

He said, “I believe the authorities should step up on the question of wearing your head gear or your helmet. I think a six-month grace period should be given, and the authorities should find some creative ways to, you know whether it’s on the duty-free concession to some agency to import all these helmets and sell it to them at a reasonable price and within six months and anybody riding without a helmet should be charged and fined instantly at the court”.

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He continued,  “Six months grace period and you have a stringent law. If persons are riding without it after 6 months, then they are brought before the court and fined instantly $200 to pay, now for now, and persons will learn.”

“Too many cyclists are on the road riding on a day-to-day basis without any headgear and that is cause of concern,” he added.

Irish believes that mandatory wearing of helmet will benefit individuals as well as the health sector.He said, “Certainly, I think something should be done in that regard to curtail the level of traffic collisions and injuries and cost to the health sector.”