increase the speeds of their motorcycles after an inquest revealed high speeds contributed to the road deaths of two teenagers.

The Wor. Charles-Etta Simmons ruled that the deaths of Mr. Jeffrey Evans and Mr. Steven Smith last September were a result of misadventure.

That concluded a two-day inquest into the head-on motorcycle collision on Palmetto Road which killed the two Devonshire teens.

After expressing condolences to the families, Ms Simmons strongly advised parents to pay more attention to what their children were doing with their bikes.

"We can never grow tired of urging our children to be responsible,'' she said. "I have no doubt that the `kit' in question contributed to the deaths of these two young men.'' After evidence from two Police witnesses, Insp. Roger Kendall and P.c. Adrian Cook, Ms Simmons said there was no doubt that excessive speeding by both parties contributed to their deaths.

In particular, she expressed concerns over the presence of a "kit'' found by P.c. Cook fitted to the engine of Mr. Smith's motorcycle.

He told the court that the vehicle which had been licensed as having an engine capacity of 50cc, had, in fact, an 80cc capacity. The kit, he said, had been increased engine capacity to nearly 105 cc.

P.c. Cook further testified that while it was illegal to import motorcycles with engines more powerful than 100 cc, there was no law prohibiting the import of oversized engines or engine parts.

Insp. Roger Kendall told the court he believed both vehicles had been travelling betwen 60-70 kph at the time of impact. Extensive damage to the motorcycles was evidence of their high speed, he said, as well as damage similarities to other high-speed collisions.

He said that on the night of the accident, the road was well-illuminated and in good repair. He cited excessive speed as the most probable cause of the accident.

P.c. Cook said Mr. Smith and Mr. Evans had committed other possible offences of dangerous driving and driving while impaired. Mr. Smith, for reasons of his age, was not qualified to drive an 80cc motorcycle.

P.c. Cook told the court that when he arrived at the accident scene at 12.59 a.m. on September 7, he saw Mr. Evans lying on his left side with his left leg folded behind his head.

Mr. Smith was found lying against a wall, his face covered in blood.

Ms Simmons asked young people to honour the memories of the two men by learning to act responsibly.

"This would be a more fitting tribute than raising flags and banners.''