JAMAICA recorded an average of one road fatality every day over the 20-year period from 2006 to 2025. During that time, 7,420 people perished in traffic crashes, a frightening number for a country of fewer than three million, and a total area of just 4,244 square miles.

The total of 7,420 shows a yearly average of 371 deaths and a monthly average of 31, for a death toll of one per day according to the daily crash reports released by the Island Traffic Authority (ITA).

The numbers over the two-decade span make for interesting reading. They include 488 deaths in 2022 — a record figure — as well as the 260 deaths recorded in 2012, the last time fewer than 300 people died on the nation’s roads in a calendar year.

Both 2011 and 2013 came close to dipping below the 300 mark, recording 308 and 307 deaths, respectively.

The statistics also show that the five years from 2019 to 2023 saw a sharp increase in the carnage on the roads with 2,273 lives lost.

• In 2019 there were 440 deaths;

• 433 were recorded in 2020;

• 487 in 2021;

• 488 in 2022;

• 425 in 2023.

• The numbers would again dip below the 400 mark in 2024 and 2025 when 365 and 374 deaths were recorded.

The ITA constantly highlights that five categories of road users are driving up the numbers.

They are motorcyclists, pedestrians and pedal cyclists who, along with pillion passengers are deemed vulnerable road users. Then there are drivers of private motor vehicles and their passengers.

According to ITA numbers, 814 motorcyclists died in road crashes over the six years from 2020 to 2025 for an average of more than 135 each year.

During that time, 500 pedestrians were killed at an average of 83 per year. Just over 300 passengers of private motor cars were also numbered among the fatalities.

The mangled Toyota Hiace minibus involved in a crash on the PJ Patterson Highway in St Catherine in November 2025 which left five people dead and 15 injured.
(Photo: Kasey Williams)

Passengers in private motor vehicles averaged 54 deaths each year, while 451 private motor car drivers also died at an average of 75.

A total of 141 pedal cyclists died during the period at an average of more than 23 each year.

Often vilified for their dangerous driving habits, which have resulted in crashes and fatalities over the years, 50 drivers of public passenger vehicles died on the roads from 2020 to 2025 at an average of just over eight deaths per year.

However, their passengers fared worse as 88 of them perished over the same period for an average of almost 15 deaths per year.

According to the ITA, the leading causes of traffic crashes in Jamaica are proceeding at high speed with no regard to road conditions; failing to keep to the near side or to the proper traffic lane; pedestrians walking or standing in the road; turning right without due care; and overtaking improperly on the offside.

From 2020-2025, a total of 670 deaths were attributed to motorists proceeding at high speed with no regard to road conditions.

Failure to keep to the near side or to the proper traffic lane resulted in 509 deaths; pedestrians walking or standing in the road caused 195 fatalities; 122 were caused by motorists turning right without due care; and 147 road users died because of improper overtaking.

While the ITA does not state whether poor road conditions, including potholes and poorly lit corridors cause traffic crashes, it lists a category called ‘other’ under which 913 deaths were tallied between 2020 and 2025.

Of note is that despite the high death toll, Jamaica has remained below the per capita average of 19.2 per 100,000 for road crashes in the Caribbean and Latin American region.

ITA statistics show that Jamaica’s numbers have ranged from a low of 10 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2011 to a high of 16 per 100,000 in 2016.

The global average is around 14.7 per per 100,000 with the number being much lower in the European Union at 4.5 per 100,000 inhabitants.