PRIME Minister Andrew Holness, in a statement on Wednesday, urged Jamaicans to be responsible in using the nation’s roads.

In the statement released on video by the Office of the Prime Minister, Holness said he was deeply concerned that over 200 people have died in road crashes since the start of the year, and appealed to road users to take special care as they use thoroughfares.

“Drivers, passengers, motor cyclists and pedestrians — slow down. Observe the rules of the road, be courteous, drive defensively, be considerate, buckle up and wear a helmet,” he appealed to road users.

“The life you save may be your own,” he added.

In the meantime, Minister of Transport and Mining, Mike Henry, has been reassuring the travelling public and his colleagues in the House of Representatives that work is continuing on the new Road Traffic Act and it should return Parliament very soon.

He said that the current overhaul of the Bill, and its companion legislation, will include provisions to improve road safety, regulate vehicle-laden weights, regulate the operation of modified vehicles and simplify the language of the Act.

The Bill was passed in the House of Representatives in November 2015 and tabled in the Senate in January 2016. However, after three presentations in the Senate, the process came to a stop just prior to the February 25 general election.

”Some changes were made then and are to be incorporated into the Bill by the Chief parliamentary counsel,” Henry said.

He stated that Cabinet is to receive a submission very soon and has been awaiting thee updated Bill from the CPC. He also noted that the Bill has been gestation for more than a decade.

“It is time for the baby to be delivered, so I crave the indulgence of every member of this House to ensure that this time around the new Act is passed,” he urged his colleagues.

Henry said that he has also been focusing his attention on the completion of a National Transport Policy.