NRSC pushes anti-drink & drive campaign for Christmas season
THE National Road Safety Council (NRSC) today announced that it has commenced its Road Safety Awareness Campaign for the Christmas-New Year Festive Season, and by next week the Campaign will be at ‘full throttle’.
This high-priority drive is aimed at preventing road crashes and ultimately loss of lives, over the holiday period.
Dr Lucien Jones, vice-chairman/convenor of the NRSC, is encouraging Jamaicans not to neglect to exercise care and caution on the road, as they celebrate at parties, fairs and other festive events during the Yuletide season.
“Our campaign will be placing emphasis on the need for speed reduction, using a designated driver or not driving at all, once you have consumed alcohol; and refraining from reckless driving and improper overtaking,” Dr Jones discloses.
He says the Road Safety Promotion for The Yuletide Holiday is in keeping with the annual initiative of the NRSC, to encourage a significant reduction in fatalities and injuries, resulting from crashes.
“Through our Christmas Road Safety Campaign, we are reiterating that each Jamaican should take personal responsibility for their own safety on the road. If we use the roads responsibly, we will also be protecting the safety of our fellow Jamaicans.”
Dr Jones acknowledges that the NRSC’s objective of reducing road fatalities to below 300 per year is on target, and that the Council is hopeful that this goal will be achieved this year — making it the first time since the Save 300 Lives Project of the NRSC was launched in 2008, that the target has been met.
Also, it is the first time in 13 years that Jamaica’s road fatalities will be fewer than 300. Dr Jones attributes the decline to the proactive public-private sector partnership on road safety, spearheaded by the NRSC. He is commending the police for their strong support to the road safety initiatives.
The NRSC vice-chairman/convenor is urging all Jamaicans to become advocates of the Save 300 LIVES Project of the NRSC, as the nation seeks to reduce road fatalities to even lower levels, in the years ahead.
