HEAD of the Police Traffic Department Superintendent Radcliffe Lewis has urged motorists to exercise greater care on the road as they celebrate the country's Independence.

The traffic chief told the Jamaica Observer that the police would be on the roads to try and keep traffic incidents down, but admitted that their efforts can only be successful if motorists play their part and exercise greater care on the road, "especially during this time when we look to celebrate [with] a number of entertainment events".

Lewis' plea comes in light of Monday's traffic accident on Old Hope Road in Kingston in which two people were killed.

Police yesterday identified one of the victims as Gastun Steer, a 42-year-old taxi operator of Papine in Kingston.

The Papine police said about 7:45 in the evening a Toyota Corolla motor car travelling towards Papine collided with another motor car travelling in the same direction. The driver, said the police, lost control of the vehicle and collided with a Toyota Hiace bus travelling in the opposite direction.

The injured were taken to hospital where Steer and the other person were pronounced dead.

Up to Sunday of this week, 142 were killed in traffic crashes, a drop from the 175 road fatalities recorded for the corresponding period last year. However, despite the decline the police have pleaded to motorists to obey the rules of the road and asked persons who would be consuming alcohol to get a non-drinker as a designated driver.