Teen joyriders on bikes risking their lives

Muscat: Teenagers as young as 14 are risking their lives on illegal motorbikes, according to a municipal council member.
A spokesperson for the Royal Oman Police (ROP) said to Times of Oman, “It’s important to register bikes and to ride safely, as well as to always wear protective gear, including a helmet.”
The safety message came after it emerged that underage boys in some areas of the country are dicing with death on unlicenced motorbikes, with no helmet or protective clothing.
Teenagers have been killed or seriously injured after causing accidents while riding illegal bikes on roads and even along sidewalks and on beaches.
“For licenced bikes, it is important to ride safely, as well as to always wear a helmet. Driving an unlicenced bike carries a fine of OMR500, as well as three months in jail for a repeat offender. The dangers of riding unregistered bikes are high, and some youth as young as 10 and others as old as 30, ride these bikes on roads alongside other vehicles, in heavily populated areas and on beaches,” according to Lt. Colonel Abdullah al Saadi, as published by the Royal Oman Police in 2017.
According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), 664 new bikes were registered in 2017, but there are many more being used illegally.
Nizwa is one of the areas in the country where youngsters ride these illegal bikes, and accidents are common, according to a local council member.
Municipal council members have also appealed to parents not to buy bikes for their children.
Nizwa Municipal Council member Assim bin Salim al Jarmoudi said: “We are losing the children of the wilayat as a result of the wrong use of bikes, and there have been instances of people in a coma for over a year after accidents.”
“We can’t say that these bikes are bad, as they’re just a tool that’s used all over the world and are widely popular in Nizwa. I used them myself in the 80s, and some older gentlemen still use them today to get around town.”
“The problem is with wrong behaviour, such as children using these bikes without helmets, or using specialised show bikes for Nizwa roads,” added Al Jarmoudi. “They are not meant to be used in this way. Besides, some people don’t register their bikes.”
Mahmood, an Omani from the area, broke his leg in an accident while riding his bike a month and a half ago.
“I’m still in recovery, although now I can walk a little. I want to take this opportunity to tell everyone to register their bikes and get insurance, as well as to practise safe driving and to wear their safety gear. An accident is dangerous when you’re on a bike.”
The ROP updated laws related to motorbikes in 2018. According to these new regulations, bikes under 70CC are not to be registered or used. Furthermore, there are fines for not wearing a helmet, as well as modifying the bike without authorisation.
Al Jarmoudi added that some teenagers also rode their bikes well into the night and installed special equipment so they are louder, disturbing neighbourhoods, and also used them to pour used oil on farmlands. He went on to praise the ROP’s role in protecting the citizens, and maintained that it is the people themselves who need to become better educated.
“We don’t want disturbances or anyone getting injured,” he added. “Parents need to know these things if they decide to help their child buy a bike.”
Aamur al Masrouri, Board Member of the Oman Road Safety Association, added: “Bikes are very popular in Al Dakhiliya, and we did notice a lack of awareness among riders, especially when it comes to safety gear and a helmet. Bikes can go very fast even if they are low CC, and so there is always the possibility of hurting yourself if something goes wrong, as a bike does not have the same level of safety that a car does.”
“As for the noise, some bikes are outfitted that way because they are small in relation to cars, so the noise is a way to alert other vehicles that they are there,” added Al Masrouri. “However, some other users will buy equipment to inflate the sound just for show, which can be a cause of annoyance to those living in smaller neighbourhoods.”
On a personal note, he added: “If my son wanted a bike, I don’t feel like it would be easy to stop him. But as a parent, I would be his guide. I would ask my son to take courses, as there is a centre in Muscat that specialises in training people in proper bike procedures. He would need to learn how to ride in a safe way, and to always have his helmet on.”
According to NCSI data, 3,845 accidents took place at the end of 2017, a number which had dropped by 48.3% as of November 2018.
Some 51% of all accidents that took place by the end of November 2018 were at night.
Muscat Governorate recorded 29% of all accidents, with Batinah South recording 18% of accidents. Both Batinah North and Al Dakhiliyah saw 13% of accidents take place in their governorates, and the rest of the governorates accounted for the remaining 27% of the accident rate.