MANDEVILLE, Manchester – A leader in this south-central town is reiterating his call for motorists to exercise caution on the crash-prone Winston Jones Highway even as there are concerns that the road is in dire need of resurfacing.

“I have concerns about the Winston Jones Highway as a major highway leading into Mandeville. I think it could look better. I think it could be safer. I think it could be upgraded to match [those] from Kingston heading into Mandeville. However, I don’t think the condition of the road can be attributed to many of the accidents that we are having,” Custos of Manchester Garfield Green told the Jamaica Observer on Monday.

His comments follow Sunday’s two-vehicle crash on the highway which claimed the life of Wilbert Brown, a farmer of Mount Edgecombe in St Ann.

A police report said about 3:20 am Brown lost control of the Toyota Camry motor car he was driving and collided with a Toyota Hiace minibus, which was travelling uphill towards Mandeville to deliver newspapers.

Green said drivers should be more responsible on the nation’s roads.

“I think the accidents we are having are due to poor judgement and reckless driving. Yes, there are potholes on the road which need to be repaired, and there are sections of the road that are bad, but if we drive carefully we can avoid the accidents that we have been having,” he said.

“As soon as we have an incident out there we tend to find something or someone to blame. Persons need to take responsibility for their actions. Winston Jones Highway is not darker than anywhere else, it doesn’t have more potholes than anywhere else,” he said.

Down the years, Winston Jones Highway has been the scene of a number of crashes which have resulted in deaths and injuries.

Sections of the road have been pockmarked with potholes resulting in some motorists driving closely to the centre of the highway.

Last year March, National Works Agency (NWA) had announced and undertook a road-marking project for the highway, which has since improved visibility.

“You can clearly identify your lane at nights because the cat eyes and the road markings are pretty clear. I want to place responsibility on drivers. Drivers need to take their time and drive on the road,” Green said.

The custos further pointed to the dangerous practice of motorists overtaking when it is not safe to do so.

“When the trucks are going up Winston Jones Highway and causing a traffic build-up, several vehicles are overtaking and forming a third lane — it is not the condition of the road that is causing that. Speeding is not caused by the deteriorating conditions of the road. Poor overtaking is not caused by the condition of the road. It all points to driver attitude and their behaviour on the road,” he added.

Vice-chairman of National Road Safety Council Dr Lucien Jones, whose father the highway is named for, said there are still crash hot spots across the country in need of attention.

“The police did a very comprehensive survey of the roads and where we are having crashes in Jamaica, and they identified where, across the island, we need to have proper road signs and markings. It is all documented. It was sent to the National Works Agency… There are some outstanding things that NWA needs to do which they have not done,” he said.

“There are many roads across the country that need resurfacing. Our focus was primarily on the white roads on the north coast, where the roads are slippery even when dry… to the extent that the surface may be causing crashes,” added Jones.