JUVENILES FOUND TO BE AMONG USERS OF ILLEGAL MOTORISED BICYCLES, POLICE APPEAL TO PARENTS AND WARN OF DANGERS

Basseterre, St. Kitts, January 20, 2023 (RSCNPF): The Police have found that several of the offenders caught using illegal motorised bicycles are juveniles. The Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force issued a community notice on January 18, 2023, advising the public that it had observed a sudden increase in the number of bicycles that have been modified, fitted with engines and used on public roads. 

On a recent edition of “Policing With You”, which airs live on ZIZ weekly, Divisional Commander for District ‘A’, Cromwell Henry, made a special appeal to parents.

“I just want to make this appeal to parents because a lot of the persons who are riding these bikes are young persons. The last few that we were able to seize, they were being driven by juveniles, 16- and 17-year-olds…and so what we want to do is make an appeal to parents to really discourage their children from engaging in this type of activity…Once you’re on a public road the bike must meet certain standards – it must have brakes, it must have horns, it must have headlights [and] indicators – and it must be inspected and approved to be on the road and these bicycles are not,” Superintendent Henry advised. 

He continued by stating, “These bicycles turned motorcycles….are illegal and we have been detaining them. We have quite a few in custody. We have quite a few persons who are waiting to go before the court and we’ll continue to enforce the law in this regard, so we want to appeal to parents and other persons who are aware of this activity to discourage these people from really doing it.”

Also present on the “Policing With You” Programme was Divisional Commander for District ‘B’, Superintendent Lyndon David. He urged the audience to report this type of activity to the Police. 

“The Police, we continue to enforce the laws of St. Kitts and Nevis. Those pedal-cycles that [have been] turned into motorcycles, they are unlawful and we have since been impounding many of them and persons have been charged. What we are saying to the public at this time is that we cannot be everywhere and if you see these things happening, give us a call, give us some good credible information so we can really respond appropriately and take the appropriate course or courses of action in order to address the situation further,” Superintendent David urged listeners and viewers to the programme.

The Police are warning that these illegal motorized bicycles pose significant risks to their users and the general public as they are not inspected nor approved for use on the road. The Vehicles and Road Traffic Act requires all motor vehicles to be insured, inspected, and licensed for use on public roads.

— 30 —