KINGSTON, Jamaica— The Road Safety Unit (RSU) is reporting that 425 road users were killed in 384 fatal crashes in 2023.

That number includes 56 females and 369 males. By comparison, 79 females and 409 males were killed in road crashes in 2022.

Based on the latest statistics, 2023 marks the fifth consecutive year that the death toll on the nation’s roads has surpassed the 400-mark.

Last year, 488 road users were killed in motor vehicle crashes, 487 died in 2021, 433 were killed in 2020 and 440 died in 2019.

Of significance is that 63 fewer road users were killed in 2023 than in 2022, a 13 per cent reduction. Fatal crashes were down 10 per cent last year.

The trend remains the same among road users with motorcyclists making up the bulk of the fatalities; 135 were killed in 2023 compared to 142 last year.

Additionally, 75 pedestrians were killed, so too 74 drivers of private motor cars, 10 passengers of commercial motor vehicles, 24 pedal cyclists, 18 pillion passengers, 21 passengers of public passenger vehicles and 52 passengers of private motor cars.

The RSU said that vulnerable road users (pedestrians, pedalcyclists, motorcyclists and pillion riders) combined accounted for 59 per cent of the road users killed last year.

Overall, males accounted for 87 per cent of the road deaths with females accounting for the remaining 13 per cent.

Driven by motorcyclists’ deaths, the parish of Westmoreland accounted for most road fatalities with 14 per cent followed by St Catherine with 13 per cent.