THE three horrific traffic accidents that claimed six lives each during the Christmas holiday, and the continued carnage on the roads since then, have raised questions about the status of the national road safety policy, which is aimed at reducing the number of fatalities on the country’s roads.

Up to December 29, 2004 the number of road deaths stood at 344 – a result of 294 motor vehicle accidents. And while the figure represents a nine per cent decline over the same period in 2003, it does nothing to assuage the concerns of the authorities who are pushing for the implementation of the policy.

Six years ago, the increasing number of road fatalities spurred the government to set up the broad-based National Road Safety Council (NRSC) to study the problem and recommend solutions that would lead to necessary amendments to the Road Traffic Act.

The initiative has since produced a 30-page draft policy document aimed at slashing the number of road accidents and road fatalities by 25 per cent over the next four years.

“The next step is implementation and that is squarely in the hands of the Ministry of Transport and Works which has the responsibility for road safety,” the NRSC’s executive director Paula Fletcher told the Sunday Observer.

According to the draft document, once the policy is approved by the Cabinet, it will be used as the basis for the development of a national programme and action plan that will promote road safety. The Cabinet subcommittee on road safety, which has not met for a while, will have to be reconvened to carry out these steps.

Permanent secretary in the ministry of transport and works Dr Alwin Hayles, who is now off the island, is to meet with the Road Safety Council and the Road Safety Unit soon after he returns on January 21 to move the process along, said the transport ministry’s senior director of policy, planning and evaluation Elsa-May Binns.

Dr Hayles will look at:

. how the committee will work,

. the terms of reference, and

. the way forward with the implementation.

But insiders said funding just may be among the snags that may hamper implementation. The first item on the policy document’s list of 18 priorities is the establishment of a national road safety fund.

“For a national road safety policy to have the envisaged effect, it must have the necessary financial backing,” the policy document said. “The establishment of a national road safety fund is of vital importance to the success of programmes developed under a national road safety policy. Priority will be given to the identification and the granting of approval of sources of such funds.”

Officials side-stepped direct questions about how much money would be needed in the initial stages as well as for the long-term sustainability of the policy. However, possible sources of funding have been identified as:

. fines from traffic violations, especially those which are highest contributors to road fatalities, as well as

. fees for competency tests and fitness examination fees.

“The Ministry of Transport and Works will seek Cabinet’s approval for the proposal of a nominal increase in these fees/fines, as well as seek to establish the fund under the administration of the Road Maintenance Fund, for which the ministry currently has portfolio responsibility,” said the policy document which was prepared in March 2004.

“Further research will be undertaken to determine the level of funds collected from these activities in order to state specifically the amounts or percentage increase desired.”

Some of these fees and fines have already been increased in the last year; but the policy has also raised the possibility of a fuel tax.

“Government has, according to sound international policy, the potential to be repaid through a road tariff that may be levied through an annual fee or a fuel levy,” it said, after raising the point that the state is “ultimately responsible for funding road safety policies”.

However, a fuel tax may be a hard sell for the government, which had to quell rioting across the island in 1999 when it tried to raise gas prices.

The private sector, especially organisations “with a vested interest in road safety”, will also be expected to play a role in the funding needed to move the document from policy to implementation.

The national road safety policy was developed based on what it referred to as the “Five E’s” strategy, which covers the areas of:

. engineering and traffic environment;

. education and information;

. enforcement and legislation;

. emergency and response; as well as

. evaluation and other comprehensive actions.

The policy calls for the availability of adequate information to road users, the ongoing examination of roadways, as well as the identification and reconstruction of black spots – that is, those areas with a high incidence of traffic accidents.

It also recommends that a national road-accident response system be established, and calls for a comprehensive road safety legislation and police enforcement programme.

In addition to the general funding needed for implementation, there is also a recommendation for a road safety fund that would promote road safety activities, particularly public education. Other areas of current focus include:

. the establishment of more school safety zones;

. incorporating aspects of the Spirit Licence Act to deal with the problem of drunk driving;

. establishing laws to deal with the growing problem of cell phone usage while driving; and

. establishing new regulations on tyre-tread depth to boost tyre safety levels.

Fletcher said proper street furniture – such as signage, functioning traffic lights, visibly marked pedestrian crossings and barriers – would be installed to prevent pedestrians from walking on roadways.

And once the policy is fully implemented, greater emphasis will be placed on plugging the loopholes that now make it easy for unlicensed cars and drivers to be on the country’s streets.

“A system of training, certification and re-certification of drivers and certification of driving instructors will be implemented to improve efficiency and to minimise fraudulent activities,” the policy document said.

Over the years, it has been widely recognised that there is a high level of corruption within aspects of the certification process. The government had attempted to solve the problem by moving to privatise the inspection of vehicles, but according to Fletcher that plan fell through. She was quick to add, however, that another attempt is being made in that direction.

“The whole thing needs to be modernised,” she told the Sunday Observer.

The link, she said, has been made between groups of individuals who are unfit to be on the road (some cannot read the road signs even though they have been issued with drivers’ licences, while others simply take to the roads without a licence) and the high mortality rates on the road.

“We know there is a level of fraud in terms of the issuing of licences but we are not sure where it happens,” Fletcher explained. “It, however, has an impact on the accident situation because driving is an experience-based skill.”

The police will also have a major role to play.

Head of the Police Traffic Division Senior Superintendent Elan Powell said as of this month, his team will intensify efforts to enforce legislation that covers areas such as the use of seat-belts, speeding, illegal taxis, and the overloading of public passenger vehicles.

The stepped-up activities would begin with the wider complement of police officers, and not just those in the traffic department, he said.

“We have to ensure that each member of the force understands his/her role in traffic management,” he explained. “So we want to get the wider participation of the police force because it can’t be left up to the traffic division alone.”

martina@jamaicaobserver.com