Motorbikes spark controversy amongst Jordanians

AMMAN — Jordanian residents and car owners are complaining of loud and lane-splitting motorbikes, while law-abiding bikers have their own complaints to voice.

“We get woken up by the sound of their loud exhaust at 2am. It’s extremely annoying and inconsiderate, especially with lots of sick people in the neighbourhood,” Raghad Malkawi, who lives just behind the King Hussein Cancer Centre, told The Jordan Times. 

Essam Jihad, another citizen in Shafa Badran, Amman, described these practices as “an infringement on the freedom of others”. 

“The blasting sound of a motorbike at 3am is not how I nor any of my neighbours want to start our day,” he told The Jordan Times. 

There needs to be stricter penalties and a set criteria for the type of motorbikes allowed on Jordan’s streets, Jihad added, noting that “noise pollution should be illegal”. 

The complaints of Ibrahim Khawasneh, who uses his personal car for transportation, weren’t noise related. 

Motorbikers are “always lane splitting and maneuvering” to overtake cars on the road; “they seem to think that traffic laws don’t apply to them and that’s very dangerous,” he told The Jordan Times. 

Rima Abdeen, another car owner who spoke with The Jordan Times, noted that while a “full ban might be unreasonable”, Jordan needs “clear laws” to regulate bikers’ movement on the road, especially as their numbers increase. 

Several bikers interviewed by The Jordan Times noted that the tough economic situation is one of the main reasons behind the increased demand for motorbikes and other affordable two-wheeled vehicles, which consume less gasoline than cars and are better at navigating traffic-laden roads.

Raad Sharaireh, a 27-year-old biker, also said that motorbikes are not manufactured to be loud, as they’re equipped with effective mufflers to reduce the noise issuing from the engine through the exhaust to an acceptable level.

“However, some drivers remove the mufflers and install sound amplifiers on their exhausts to make them louder,” he told The Jordan Times. 

Sharaireh noted that these “irresponsible” practices are also a source of annoyance for other bikers, who abide by traffic laws. 

“They’ve has harmed our relationship with the authorities and have forced us to avoid driving in certain areas,” he said. 

While biking for many is about “community and exploration”, this behaviour feeds into the stereotypical image of bikers as “outlaws or thugs”, he added, noting that obtaining a motorbike license requires a number of required security approvals and clearance of any previous violations. 

Sharaireh added that when passing through residential areas, many bikers, including himself, avoid hitting the gas and roll their bikes on neutral until they’re back on the main road.

Muath Ali, another motorbiker, told The Jordan Times: “It’s all about how drivers handle their vehicles. A responsible biker doesn’t drive in between neighbourhoods at night or intentionally hit the gas pedal to show off.” 

He also complained of irresponsible practices on the part of some car drivers which put bikers at risk. 

“Some car drivers take it personally when a motorbike overtakes them and they might try to push it off the road. But of course, I can’t generalise that behaviour for all car drivers and the same applies for the malpractices of some individual bikers,” said Ali.