Campaign for motorcycle safety launched

AMMAN — The passion for riding motorcycles got the Kingdom’s bikers to concentrate their efforts into creating a safe traffic environment, through launching an initiative titled “Bidna Iyak” to promote awareness about traffic rules, while investing heavily on their network’s expansion.

The initiative’s programme, in collaboration with the Arab Bikers Network, includes 12 campaigns. This month’s campaign is titled “Where is Your Seatbelt” and “Your Safety Matters to Us” campaign was added to it, founder of the initiative Mohammad Zarka told The Jordan Times in a phone interview on Monday.

“Every day people lose their loved ones and friends in vehicle accidents, bringing heartbreaking grief, due to distracted driving and lack of road etiquette and politeness,” Zarka said.

This initiative aims at encouraging vehicle drivers to have more consideration for motorbike riders and even for bicycle riders as well, in addition to adjusting lanes positions and “basically let people have more respect for traffic laws and regulations”.

The initiative also contains another project titled “Bidna Iyaki Gawiye” geared towards empowering more women to ride motorcycles in the Kingdom.

“I founded this voluntary initiative after a friend of mine, who was also a biker, passed away in a road accident,” said Zarka.

This initiative includes awareness and education campaigns, in addition to publicity campaigns on radio, television and media platforms.

“Setting up a headquarters for the network in 2020 was a major step, but even before we had a gathering place we used to have group rides as well as strong connections with all of the bikers from the region,” founder of the Arab Bikers Network Isam Al Shaer told The Jordan Times in a phone interview on Monday.

This network is not only for Jordanian bikers, but also represents all riders from across the Arab region, Shaer said.

Highlighting the importance of motorcycling, Shaer noted that motorcycles are more fuel-efficient and are “a great solution” to traffic congestion being able to bypass long lines of heavy traffic.

“There are always motorcycle group riding and even biker families, therefore the motorcycling culture lets riders enjoy the scenery while experiencing a new adventure,” Shaer said.