PORT MARIA, St Mary — Concerned that speeding is one of the reasons for the spike in crashes on St Mary’s roads, Deputy Superintendent Joseph Foster has appealed to locally elected officials to ask the people they represent to slow down.

He has also appealed for a speed limit sign to be posted at the entrance to the Ian Fleming International Airport, where work is still under way.

Speaking during the monthly meeting of the municipal corporation last Thursday, Foster said many motorists fail to comply with the speed limits, and encouraged them to obey all the road rules and be courteous to other road users.

Since the start of the year, 4,858 traffic tickets have been issued in the parish.

Since the start of this year there have been six fatal collisions with eight casualties in the parish. Most of these crashes have occurred in western St Mary. Among the dead is Adrian Pendley from the Oracabessa traffic department.

Up to the end of April 2022, there were were three fatalities from three crashes in the parish.

In the meantime, DSP Foster is hoping to find a solution to what appears to be an emerging crash hot spot – entrance of the Ian Fleming International Airport.

“With the upgrading that is taking place there and the heavy traffic in and out of there, it needs a wider entrance,” he pointed out.