Minister of Transport and Works John Boyce says he will be ensuring that his ministry pulls out all the stops to help reduce the number of road deaths.
According to Boyce, Barbados will be joining the rest of the world in meeting the United Nations goal of reducing road fatalities across the globe by five million by the year 2020.
He made the comments yesterday during an FIA (International Automobile Federation) mobility Region III meeting at Hilton Barbados.
Boyce said he would ensure that the promised Road Safety Council, to be set up by year-end, would include not only personnel from his ministry but the private sector and the health sector.
He said the council, which would be led by Prime Minister Freundel Stuart, would be working assiduously to reduce the number of road fatalities.
So far this year Barbados has recorded 19 road fatalities.
Boyce said reducing road deaths called for an “integrated” approach and that meant “shifting a major share of the responsibility from road-users to those who design the road system”.
“There are many other players who also have responsibility for road safety, such as health services, the judicial services, schools and non-governmental organizations. Finally, the individual road-user has the responsibility to abide by the laws and regulations,” said Boyce.
He added: “Road crashes typically cost developing countries some one to three per cent of GDP (gross domestic product) each year, undermining national prosperity and job-creation. This brings into focus, of course, the need for action in this matter.”
Boyce said this was one of the main reasons the ministry was pushing ahead with the proposed Road Traffic Amendment Act ,which was now “with the Attorney General’s Office for final drafting”.
According to the minister, the repairs of roadways and bridges remained “a Number 1 priority” for the ministry. However, the lack of human resource remained one of the ministry’s biggest issues.
Speaking on behalf of FIA president Jean Todt, secretary general for automobile mobility and tourism, Susan Pikrallidas, congratulated the Barbados Government on its efforts to reduce road deaths. (MM)
