ROAD FATALITIES, as of yesterday, stood at 375 — seven fewer than the previous year. However, Kenute Hare, director for the Road Safety Unit in the Ministry of Transport and Mining, said there’s nothing to celebrate.
“Three hundred and seventy five lives have been lost and families shattered… fathers, mothers, sons and daughters, and in many instances this could have been avoided. I really can’t feel good,” he told
Jamaica Observer’s Auto. “It’s a struggle to keep the toll below 300.”
Hare is making reference to the ‘safety unit’s ‘Below 300’ campaign, which is aimed at keeping the figure below that mark.
According to the director, the island’s western belt has been a challenge.
“The road-safety battle is won or lost in western Jamaica. So far 54 people have died in Westmoreland; 35 in St Elizabeth; 24 in St James; 23 in Hanover; and 17 in Trelawny — this 41 per cent of people killed on the road network,” he said.
“We are committed in continuing our education campaign, as we have made inroads on the psychological level in reminding motorcycle drivers to wear their safety gear; for people to buckle up; and for people to obey road signs… We have found the latter to be a difficult task. But public education alone cannot do it. To achieve our goals we need sustained enforcement by the police, as people respond to this. You can see this manifest itself when the cops are present on the roadways, and how drivers slow down and warn other drivers of police presence by flashing their headlights,” he said.
He however, had high praises for Senior Superintendent of Police Fitz Bailey for reducing the road fatalities in Clarendon.
“Senior Superintendent Bailey and his team have cut road fatalities by 50 per… From 34 deaths last year to 17. There is robust and sustained enforcement in Clarendon. The police is out there — left, right and centre. That’s what made the difference,” said Hare.
The safety unit director said the proposed new legislation will assist in reducing some of the fatalities as it relates to motorcycle drivers.
“The new legislation will be that drivers of motorcycles will be required to have some sort of formal training before taking to the streets. This is a total departure of what currently prevails, where an owner of a motorcycle can ride indefinitely on a learner’s licence and not knowing the Road Traffic Act. So the proposed legislation will be revolutionary,” he said.
“This is important as motorcycles are one of the most dangerous units on the road network. There are no frames to protect the operators in the event of a collision.”
The Road Safety Unit, under Hare’s directorship, has embarked on several road-safety programmes bandwidth. The last time fewer than 300 were killed was in 2012 when 256 individuals lost their lives on the roadways. (Jamaica Observer)