THE Jamaica Public Service (JPS) has revealed that motor vehicle crashes across the island caused approximately 1.2 million hours in power outages last year.

Subsequently, Winsome Callum, JPS director of corporate communications, is appealing to motorists to use the roads more carefully.

On Wednesday, Callum, along with other executives and staff of JPS participated in a Crash Free-Road Safety Expo at S Foods parking lot. The event was put on by Grennell’s Driving School and involved a number of other companies that have vested interest in road safety.

According to Callum, people often blamed JPS when their households and businesses lose power, but she wants Jamaicans to know that many times, it is the fault of motorists, some of whom are careless on the roads.

“On average, we have three motor vehicle accidents a day that cause power outages. We have cars, trucks, buses that are running into poles or tearing down JPS lines. It takes a minimum of three to four hours to replace a pole and we have to repair those lines and restore service to customers. Most times we get to do it in the same day.

“From the customers’ perspective, when you add up all of the hours our individual customers would have been without electricity because of motor vehicle crashes, you are looking at about 1.2 million hours without electricity…When you add it all up, you are looking at about 1.2 million hours cumulatively that customers would have been without power because of motor vehicle accidents,” Callum said, adding that the significance is the impact the loss has on productivity in schools, other educational institutions and small businesses.

According to Callum, since the start of this year, there have been approximately 500 motor vehicle accidents causing power outages to JPS customers.

In the first quarter of this year, 105 people were killed in crashes with motorcyclists accounting for the highest number of deaths, followed by pedestrians and motor vehicle drivers. As of June 27, there were 203 deaths on the roads from fatal collisions.

Callum said: “Think about the impact of that and the implications for production, just regular residential living, the things in your refrigerator and people in school. It is just very disruptive. Our interest today is really to encourage people to take time and drive because it is not just about the inconvenience to those involved in the motor vehicle accidents. It is about the community that you are impacting. What we say is drive safely to save time, lives and money and to keep the power on.”

Meanwhile, minister with responsibility for transport Daryl Vaz highlighted that there were 480 road fatalities last year and said though the comparative figure is similar it is unacceptable.

“Even though the country has seen a reduction in fatalities when compared to the same period last year, the number still remains too high and unacceptable. Pedestrians, pedal cyclists and motorcyclists account for 65 per cent of the road users killed since the start of this year. Statistics further indicate that the major factors accounting for most of the road deaths so far include failing to keep traffic lane, excessive speeding, inappropriate use of the road by pedestrians and the lack of protective devices used by motor cyclists, motorists and front-seat and back-seat passengers,” he said.