WITH stories of road collisions, many with multiple fatalities, continuing to make the news since the start of this year, Grennell’s Driving School has maintained its partnership with Red Stripe to facilitate another series of defensive driving workshops.

Addressing the first Crash No More 2024 workshop at Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston recently, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport Carol Palmer questioned: “Where is our sense of responsibility? Where is the discipline we need in our society, in ourselves?

“Not only have I been the survivor of three major accidents in my life, all of which I had no responsibility for, but friends and close relatives of mine have also been severely injured or killed as a result of reckless driving on our roads. So today I’d like to know why you are here. Are you here because your company mandated it? Are you here because you feel it will look good on your resume? Are you here because it will put you in line for a promotion? Or are you here because you have decided to act responsibly?”

Palmer noted that often times there are complaints that the Government isn’t doing enough to minimise road collisions but argued that there is only so much the State can do.

“We have established laws and designed a road code to guide proper road use. There is the JCF [Jamaica Constabulary Force], which enforces these laws; insurance partners, which protects road users; and Mr Grennell and his team who train road users to act thoughtfully,” added Palmer who was among a group of critical public and private sector stakeholders slated to make presentations at the workshop.

The stakeholders included Island Traffic Authority, Insurance Association of Jamaica, and JCF.

With more than 50 participants — including pedestrians, motorcyclists and motorists — the session clarified each participant’s contribution to responsible road use, or the lack thereof.

Following a number of engaging presentations, Alphonso Grennell, managing director of Grennell’s Driver Safety Training & Services Ltd, used specially designed workbooks to engage his trainees in an hours-long discussion and assessment.

Since 2023 Grennell’s Driving School and Red Stripe have collaborated to host a series of defensive driving workshops across the island as both companies play their part in trying to decrease road collisions, injuries and fatalities.

“We encourage others to see the value of what we’re doing and join us in making this initiative even more impactful, especially since we’ve seen so many crashes since the start of the year. We extend a warm thanks to Red Stripe for their commitment to building a culture of responsibility and their consistent partnership,” said Grennell.

He noted that the second workshop will be hosted in June to acknowledge National Safety Month.

In the meantime, Red Stripe’s Communications Manager Daika Mitchell pointed out that the company has been a leading private sector advocate for responsible consumption and safe driving.

“Jamaica recorded 425 road fatalities last year resulting from 384 crashes as at December 31.

On Monday the Road Safety Unit in the Ministry of Transport reported that 69 lives have been lost due to road crashes on Jamaica’s streets since the start of this year, resulting from 61 fatal collisions.