THE police have called on Jamaicans to “put safety on the roads” first this holiday season, in light of recent statistics that showed that 294 people have died on the roads this year.

Senior Superintendent of Police Calvin Allen, head of the Police Traffic Division, however, said the figure is a 17.5 per cent reduction in road fatalities, compared to the 353 reported last year, but said there is need for greater care on the nation’s road.

Motorcyclists have been accounted for 30 per cent of road users killed this year.

Statistics from the Road Safety Unit (RSU) in the Ministry of Transport and Mining, revealed that 86 motorcyclist in traffic crashes this year, compared to 87 in during a similar period in 2016.

Allen warned: “We want everyone to enjoy their Christmas holiday but remember if you don’t put’s safety as a crucial aspect then your holiday may be cut short.”

“If we don’t put safety first and have that at the forefront of what we’re doing then you’re going to continue to be careless in how you use the roadways and we really want for persons to think safety in that regard,” he said.

“The presence of the police will be along the critical corridors, especially at certain intersections towards ensuring that we don’t have a gridlock from unruly motorist.” He added that the police would also be in the town centres not only to ensure traffic flow but also for citizen security and safety.

The police have also encouraged motorists not to drink and drive and to always have a designated driver

“If at the end of a function you don’t feel mentally prepared don’t take the chance and put your life at risk or the lives of others at risk”

Meanwhile, Superintendent Allen has also warned persons to be on the lookout for motorist who are attempting to impersonate the police by attaching flashing blue lights to their vehicles.

“We will continue to do our enforcement in that regard, we will be doing some coordinated activities across the island with the traffic authority.”

Allen said some 49 pairs of licence plates have been removed from vehicles from four operations in the corporate area and St Catherine

“The only vehicle that should be on the road with a blue light is the police. If you’re out there with a blue light and you’re not a police we are going to assume that you’re impersonating the police and we will be looking at other charges as well.”