National Road Safety Council to implement strategies to reduce accidents ahead of yuletide season
KINGSTON, Jamaica –The Ministry of Transport has given a commitment to increasing its education campaign and community engagement on road safety across all media platforms while the Island Traffic Authority (ITA) has committed to putting more boots on the ground to carryout spot checks on road worthiness of vehicles.
These are two of the measures the National Road Safety Council (NRSC) is taking to reduce the number of motor vehicle accidents and fatalities on the nation’s roads.
Up to Friday, November 11, 401 people had been killed in 348 fatal collisions since the start of the year.
In a statement Saturday, the Council said it was concerned about the number of serious crashes and road fatalities. It convened a meeting on Thursday, November 10 at the direction of Prime Minister Andrew Holness to explore strategies to reduce the number of fatal crashes.
Other measures to be implemented will see the police, through Superintendent Lanford Salmon, the Head of the Highway and Patrol Division at the Public Safety and Traffic Enforcement Branch, increasing their presence on the roads, especially in the yuletide season.
Additionally, the NRSC and the Ministry of National Security will be embarking on another motorcycle training session in December, starting in one of the country’s accident hotspots, Mountainside, St Elizabeth.
“Road safety continues to be a critical priority of the Government of Jamaica. The National Road Safety Council is determined to play its part in addressing this issue. This issue requires an all hands-on deck approach”, said Minister without portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister, Floyd Green.
“Nothing beats personal responsibility, so I am urging all drivers to take more care on the roads. Too many families are being put through needless heartache because of bad decisions being made on our roads,” Green added.
He is also urging the private sector to partner with the Government on this drive.
The NRSC has meanwhile expressed sympathies to the families of individuals who have lost their lives on the nation’s roads.
