Dear Editor,

I write in response to Dennis Chung’s article in the Observer of September 2. The National Road Safety Council welcomes all comments and suggestions put forward by members of the public, because as the lead agency mandated by an act of parliament (1993) to co-ordinate all efforts to reduce the carnage on our roads, our work is greatly facilitated by inputs from government agencies, academia, the private sector, NGOs and the public.

It is in this context that I would like to correct Mr Chung’s faulty impression that the current public education campaign, one of many that the NRSC has engaged in over the years, constitutes the main thrust of our efforts to reduce road deaths. In fact, as a Council chaired by the prime minister, the key ministers whose portfolio responsibilities impact on road safety – MTW, MNS, MOJ, MOH – and their technical staff, all meet with the members of the secretariat of the NRSC monthly.

One of the top priorities of that meeting is to review the operations of the Traffic Division of the JCF in an effort to ensure adequate enforcement of the road safety act. It is a direct result of this priority that the NRSC places on enforcement why we lobbied successfully to have the Safety Devices Legislation – mandating the use of seat belts and helmets – enacted, as well as the DWI Act – which makes it a criminal offence to drive while under the undue influence of alcohol. Both of these, along with other measures, including properly run public education campaigns, contributed significantly to the reduction of road fatalities from an average of over 400 annually in the early 1990s to 296 in 1999.

The target, therefore, of reducing road deaths below 300, is not a “hope” as Mr Chung has suggested, nor is it predicated only on PR campaigns, as useful as they have been shown to be across the globe by other countries, but such a target has been established based on historical data, and is being pursued in a holistic manner involving the work of many agencies islandwide. We are fairly close to completing the revision of the Road Traffic Act, working very hard to re-organise the Island Traffic Authority – which is responsible for testing vehicles and drivers – exploring carefully the possibility of introducing electronic surveillance on our roads. We have successfully lobbied for the introduction of a new and very modern traffic ticketing system, and are in active discussions to introduce a comprehensive and modern emergency management system, among other measures, all which when fully operational will make a serious impact on the second leading cause of sudden death in our country – road fatalities.

We continue, therefore, to work assiduously to reduce the pain and suffering that far too many Jamaicans have experienced as a consequence of road crashes, and we continue to welcome suggestions and comments from all sectors of the society. This is a complex and difficult issue which requires a multi-faceted approach and is not amenable to “quick fixes”, despite the urgency of the problem.

Dr Lucien W Jones

Vice Chairman and Convenor

National Road Safety Council

roadsafety@cwjamaica.com