There can be no overstating the grief and trauma associated with the sudden death and/or serious injury of loved ones.

Sadly, such tragedies, often caused by violent crime and motor vehicle accidents, form an ongoing, devastating backdrop.

Jamaicans on the weekend reeled with the impact of news that six people, including a father and two sons, died when their car plunged into the Rio Cobre at Flat Bridge in the Bog Walk Gorge, St Catherine. Just to underline the frequency of such events, word followed sometime after that a young doctor had died in another crash in Mandeville.

Estimates suggest that fatalities on Jamaican roads have now exceeded 200 since the start of the year. Up to early last week road deaths were at 197 since the beginning of 2016, according to the

Jamaica Information Service, Government’s information arm.

Grief for friends and family, and that stifling sense of tragedy now affecting the wider Jamaican society amount to just part of the story. Health specialists say hospital bills and other health-related costs as a result of road accidents amount to billions of dollars annually. Add to that the incalculable loss when individuals with the potential to contribute much to their society die or become incapacitated.

Evidence provided by the police and gleaned from simply watching happenings on Jamaican roads make it clear that recklessness is at the source of many accidents.

In the case of the Rio Cobre disaster, we are told that the car, which was equipped and licensed to carry five, actually had eight people aboard. Crucially, witnesses are alledging that just prior to plunging into the river, the driver of the car had overtaken improperly and was in the process of trying to beat the traffic light at Flat Bridge before it turned red.

Now, considering the infamous, death-smattered reputation of that narrow stretch of road, those witness reports seem almost unbelievable. Only, though, that Jamaicans see similar behaviour on roads all over the country, all the time.

What’s to be done to alter such behaviour? Public education is an obvious answer and it seems fair to say that the National Road Safety Council, the police, and other authorities have been working hard in that regard.

As the society grows, matures and becomes more economically able, it seems reasonable to expect that road surveillance, including the use of remote technology, will make it easier to punish those who now breach road rules with impunity. As is the case with violent crime and other forms of unlawful conduct, we expect that the probability of being caught and punished will lead to greater care by motorists and other road users.

However, when all is said and done, responsibility must rest with the people involved, both drivers and passengers alike.

So that, for example, if a driver is seen to be driving too fast or without due care, passengers need to make themselves heard. And if the recklessness persists, passengers — even in the face of ridicule and inconvenience — have a responsibility to themselves, dependents and loved ones to ask to be let out of that vehicle.

Let’s start taking responsibility now.