THE Road Safety Unit (RSU) is intensifying its appeal to road users, calling on motorists to cut their speed and exercise caution as the number of people killed on the nation’s roads since January has climbed way past the 300 mark that was set for the year.

That figure now stands at 365 despite the efforts of the RSU, according to its latest crash report.

Director of the Road Safety Unit (RSU) Kanute Hare says he is concerned about the increase in road deaths as the main reasons for the disturbing carnage are indiscipline, impatience, and a lack of regard for law and order.

“One of the things we have found out is the people know very little about road safety… ego is getting the better of a lot of us and we take a lot of risk,” Hare told the Jamaica Observer yesterday.

Males continue to account for the majority of those killed (290) in 295 fatal crashes up to December 8. Hare said the RSU is not happy about the increase in deaths and has been reaching out especially to motorcyclists in the western end of the island in the parishes of St James, Westmoreland, St Elizabeth, and Hanover. According to the figures, a quarter of those killed were motorcyclists.

“… We are trying to empower them about how to make the right choices in the traffic environment,” he stated.

He pointed out that global projections are that by the end of 2016, more than 1.2 million will be killed in road crashes, with 90 per cent of those occurring in developing countries such as Jamaica.

“We have to continue to educate our people,” he stated, adding that the RSU has been working with state agencies such as the Social Development Commission to reach people at the community level.

But he stressed that education without enforcement is useless and that the sustainable enforcement of the Road Traffic Act is of particular concern. “We depend a lot on the enforcement; that’s very critical for us. We would like to encourage them to do it. We are in for serious times out there on the network,” Hare said.

He reiterated the need for the police’s divisional commanders to take an approach similar to their crime-fighting strategies to road safety. “I’m pleased with a division like Clarendon. They have dramatically improved their road safety. A lot of it has to do with the level of round-the-clock enforcement, especially along hotspot corridors,” he stated. “We are in dialogue with the (Clarendon) police and we have been promised that they will intensify their road safety operations,” he said.

The head of the NRU insisted that road markings are another critical factor in road safety, acknowledging the absence and fading of important markings in some areas.

“It’s important that the roads are properly marked because they provide valuable information for motorists on how to operate on the road, especially those who operate at nights. We are aware of these environmental hazards that can create problems. We are in dialogue with NWA (National Works Agency), and they are getting quite a number of roads marked, so we should see an improvement as it relates to road marking. The engineering and environmental component should be aligned,” he stated.

Hare said motorists must also be aware that traffic signals can fail, and that when this occurs these intersections are to be approached with caution. “If the lights aren’t working what they should do is approach the intersection as if it’s a four-way. You should not be speeding through an intersection if the light is out. You must exercise caution,” he said.

Fifty-four per cent of all the fatalities happened in the parishes of St Andrew, Westmoreland, St Catherine and St Elizabeth.