KINGSTON, Jamaica – Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie says a campaign is needed to highlight the severity of road deaths in the country. Since the start of the year, over 270 persons have died on the nation’s roads.

Speaking at a Town Hall meeting in St Ann on Thursday, McKenzie said the number of road deaths has created a man-made disaster affecting the country.

“We are paying a severe price for this level of indiscipline that has taken over our roads. We are losing lives, young men, and I am concerned,” he said.

Adding that coupled with emotional pain, the country is losing revenue because of these accidents, McKenzie said the law alone cannot help to derail unruly road users.

“The law alone can’t help and I am feeling a little bit down because when I listen to the amount of persons in the hospitals where elected surgeries have to be put on hold (when injured road users are admitted) that is at a cost to the country, loss of revenue, loss of production and we consider it to be a disaster,” he noted.

On Sunday, a two-bus collision on the Salem main road in Runaway Bay, St Ann, left four people dead. Two others succumbed to their injuries on Thursday bringing the death toll to four.

READ: St Ann two-bus crash death toll moves to four

Eighteen others remain hospitalised and in need of surgery.

In highlighting the gravity of the situation, McKenzie said in the same manner people can use social media to raise awareness of other issues, a similar effort should be put into highlighting the road fatality issue.

“The same way we use social media and other forms of information to be critical and raise concerns about issues, let us start a campaign in this country about the carnage on our roads”, the Minister said, indicating that the campaign should highlight what citizens can do.

“A bet you any morning some of you say you decide you not taking these buses or these taxis, it sends a message,” he said.