Ivolyn Dillon (second left), manager HEART Trust/ NSTA Petersfield Vocational Training Centre, and minister without portfolio in the Ministry of National Security Senator Matthew Samuda (third left), cut the ribbon to officially declare open the facility. Sharing in the moment are Dianne McIntosh (front row left), permanent secretary in the Ministry of National Security; and (from left, back row) Paula Fletcher, executive director of the National Road Safety Council; Superintendent Courtney Coubrie of the Police Safety and Traffic Enforcement Branch, (PSTEB); Kanute Hare, Road Safety Unit director; and Victor Anderson, programme coordinator at the National Road Safety Council. (Photos: Anthony Lewis)

PETERSFIELD, Westmoreland – Motorcyclists in Westmoreland are now benefiting from a virtual training and motorcycle simulator programme at the Petersfield Vocational Training Centre in the parish.

The project, spearheaded by the Ministry of National Security, which is being undertaken at a cost of $52 million, allows for the delivery of important content to riders while addressing their physical capabilities and readiness.

The centre, which was officially opened by minister without portfolio in the Ministry of National Security Senator Matthew Samuda on Sunday, forms part of Government’s strategy to reduce motorcycle fatalities on the nation’s roads and was designed from retrofitted containers, equipped with two state-of-the-art motorcycle simulators. A second simulator will be placed at Grange Hill High School, also in Westmoreland, where they currently have a remedial after-school programme for high school dropouts.

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/observer-west/westmoreland-bikers-benefiting-from-52-million-training-programme_201231