Motorcycle deaths increased by an alarming 87.5 per cent between Jan 1 and yesterday despite an overall reduction of 10.5 per cent in road fatalities for the corresponding period last year.

Dr Lucien Jones, vice-chairman of the National Road Safety Council, made the disclosure during the body's full council meeting, held yesterday, at the Courtleigh hotel in New Kingston.

While providing statistics for the period January to March 2008, Jones noted that dealing with road fatalities accounted for more than seven per cent of the Ministry of Health's budget.

Statistics to indicate whether the failure to wear helmets was directly linked to the increase in deaths were not immediately available.

"There are a lot of illiterate persons driving on our roads because of corruption," Jones said during the meeting.

He noted that persons were obtaining driver's licences without being able to pass the driving test, as well as paying to have defective vehicles passed. The number of fatalities involving defective vehicles was approximately three per cent.

Jones said that, in the review of the Road Safety Act, currently in progress, the following areas will be looked at:

Hands-free usage of cellphones.

Safety standard for tyres.

Modernisation of fitness testing and tickets for careless and reckless driving.

A review of the Road Safety Act seeks to reduce road fatalities to below 300 per year. The compliance of persons with the ticketing system is of great concern. This fell from a rate of 80 per cent in 2007 to 30 per cent for the corresponding this year.