FALMOUTH, Trelawny — Mayor of Falmouth and chairman of the Trelawny Municipal Corporation, Councillor C Junior Gager says he will be renewing calls for the installation of traffic lights and additional street lights across the parish following last week’s crash on the Trelawny bypass that claimed seven lives.

Trelawny has only one set of traffic lights, near Florence Hall.

Gager, who said traffic lights at key locations would help reduce speeding, pledged to intensify representation for their installation. He also said he will continue pressing for more street lights to improve night-time visibility.

“We do think traffic lights are needed at various sections of the roadway in the parish — that would help to ease down the speed of the motor vehicles on the roadways — so yes, we will be making representation for traffic lights,” the mayor told reporters this week.

“We are also making representation for street lights so that in the night, the place is properly lit. We will be meeting soon and we will try to make representation, or repeat the requests that we have been making over time, so that we can see how best this might be accommodated,” he added.

The mayor commended the Trelawny police for their consistent highway patrols but lamented that some motorists return to speeding once cops leave the area.

“The police are doing a very good job but sometimes when they aren’t there, that’s when motorists decide to speed,” he said, adding that many drivers continue to ignore posted speed limits.

Describing the recent tragedy as “cause for concern”, Gager said the loss of seven lives underscores the need for improvements to road safety.

Mayor of Falmouth Councillor C Junior Gager speaking with reporters at his office earlier this week. Horace Hines

“One life lost is one too many,” he said, encouraging drivers who become tired or sleepy to pull over and rest rather than risk continuing their journey.

“We might want to reach our destination at a certain time but it is best we reach there safe and sound,” he added.

The mayor also extended condolence to the families and friends of the seven victims.

“I want the families to know that we share in the grief they are experiencing,” Gager said.

According to the Trelawny police, a Toyota Hiace bus carrying five occupants was travelling towards St Ann while a Hino motor truck carrying three occupants was heading towards Montego Bay.

Investigators reported that on reaching the vicinity of Bogue Gate, the Toyota bus reportedly drifted onto the right side of the road and slammed head-on into the oncoming truck.

Five people, including the driver of the Hino truck, died at the scene. The remaining occupants were rushed by ambulance to Falmouth Public General Hospital where two later succumbed to their injuries. The condition of the Toyota bus driver, who was said to be in a critical state after the crash, is not immediately known.