THE National Road Safety Council (NRSC) says it will this year intensify its lobby for policy and practices to improve and streamline an emergency response system for victims of road crashes.

“Currently there is no dedicated ambulance service or single emergency toll-free number for ambulance/fire/police which persons, or even the authorities, can contact for assistance in the event of a road crash,” the council said in a press release yesterday.

Executive Director Paula Fletcher said the organisation was working with other state agencies, with a view to establish efficient emergency response services for persons who are injured in traffic crashes.

“There is an urgent need for an adequate number of ambulances to be assigned to respond to road crashes islandwide,” she said.

“There is a shortage of ambulances in the public health system and those that exist are used to transfer patients between hospitals. Approximately six ambulances, for emergency response, are in the western section of the island and are operated by the fire services. These ambulances were acquired prior to the hosting of World Cup Cricket in 2007,” said Fletcher.

She also underlined the need for a designated emergency telephone number “to activate response from the police, fire department and ambulance services for injured persons at the scene of a road crash”.

The NRSC said it will also be pushing for the development of an electronic surveillance system which would be used to detect breaches of certain road regulations such as the breaking of traffic lights and speeding.

Fletcher, who noted that the legislative framework for the electronic surveillance system was currently being prepared, said the use of technology has to be the way forward as the police cannot be on every stretch of roadway. Additionally, she said its use would reduce the human element in the observance of the law, making it less vulnerable to corrupt practices such as bribery.

Meanwhile, Head of the Police Traffic Division Senior Superintendent Radcliffe Lewis said the police’s vigilance on the road, which was increased during the Christmas period, will continue islandwide.

“We will definitely be monitoring the behaviour on the roads through more police presence. Spot checks and speed checks will be increased,” Lewis said.

He says crash-prone areas in Clarendon, St Elizabeth and Westmoreland would be particularly targeted.

Meanwhile, Superintendent Courtney Coubrie, also of the Police Traffic Division, said motorists need to practise good driving habits. He said that speeding, tailgating, improper overtaking and disobeying traffic lights and road signs have caused most crashes.