Seventeen more people have perished in road accidents in just over two weeks, pushing the death toll up from 148 to an alarming 165 halfway through the year.

The latest figures issued by the Road Safety Unit on June 2 show that fatalities are up five per cent between January and May, over the same period for 2015. This is a one per cent increase between the unit’s May 19 report and its latest report on June 2.

The unit further reports that 145 males have died in accidents, compared to 20 females since January. Thirty of those males, or 21 per cent, were in the 20-24 age group. Westmoreland, with 29 fatalities, still accounts for the most deaths on the roads.

Going by the data, the aggressive ‘zero tolerance’ operation launched by the police a month ago to remove defective vehicles from the roads is not yet reflecting an impact.

But, head of the police traffic division, Senior Superintendent Calvin Allen said the fact that more than 700 pairs of licence plates were removed from vehicles found to be in breach of the Road Traffic Act meant that some lives were saved. He said motorists in contravention of the act have certainly been feeling the long arm of the law.

Allen said that so far, under the islandwide operation being conducted in collaboration with the Island Traffic Authority and the Transport Authority, motorists have been given 28,500 tickets for various breaches.

Additionally, 150 types of offensive weapons, including guns, have been removed from the streets through the operation, he said. Motorcycles, which road safety experts say have contributed to the spike in road crashes and fatalities, have also been seized and prosecutions made for the non-wearing of protective helmets.

“We have been very strident,” Allen insisted. He emphasised that Operation Zero Tolerance is about much more than just targeting defective vehicles. “We go far beyond that to deal with persons of interest, contraband, offensive weapons and so on. The aim of the operation is to make our roadways safer through effective police presence and also to make vehicles safer through rigid and purposeful inspection by the examiners,” he said.

“There is particular attention given to those vehicles that operate as PPV,” he said, adding that the owners and operators of those vehicles have a responsibility to ensure that the vehicles are mechanically sound as they transport people.

The operation is slated to initially run for three months, after which it is to be assessed and re-strategised, but there will be no letting up on the clampdown, Allen said.

He lamented that, despite the horrific crashes and resultant deaths, people are still not taking enough precaution. “They are not using those crashes as a means of learning to make better for themselves. You’re still seeing persons driving in a careless way, going beyond the required speed, for example,” he said.

Allen pointed out that the police are not merely focusing on enforcement, but are also pushing road safety education campaigns, and have made several suggestions to the National Works Agency to improve road surfaces, signage, and traffic signals, among other infrastructure.

He pointed to the installation of traffic signals at Grange Lane, off Municipal Boulevard (otherwise known as the I-95) in Portmore, St Catherine, as one development resulting from the suggestions.

Representatives of the National Road Safety Council met with Prime Minister Andrew Holness in April to discuss the rising fatalities on the nation’s roads. At the time, there were 111 road deaths. Fewer than two months later, 54 more people have perished.