MINISTER PICKERSGILL LAUNCHES ROAD SAFETY MONTH

Minister Robert Pickersgill speaking at the launch of "Road Safety Awareness Month"

Minister Robert Pickersgill on Wednesday, June 6, 2007 launched the observation of Road Safety Awareness month at the Coore's Unipet Service station at Angels in Spanish Town, St. Catherine.

The month of June has been designated 'Road Safety Awareness Month' for some time now by the Jamaica Gasolene Retailers Association (JGRA). During this time, attention is paid in a more intense way to road safety matters by various stakeholders.

Speaking at the launch, Minister Pickersgill dubbed the JGRA intervention a 'timely one' and suggested that the observation should be 'Road Safety Awareness Life' rather than 'Road Safety Awareness Month'. "The fact is, road safety is not just another issue for us to contemplate - it is a matter of survival", he continued. He drew attention to the various grief stricken families who were left in that state because of traffic accidents which claimed their loved ones and conveyed his condolences.

In painting a ghastly picture of the road traffic situation, the Minister said, "Here in Jamaica, the present fatality rate of 12.16 per 100,000 inhabitants ranks it in the medium risk designation by the PAHO. The Ministry of Health's data reveals that road traffic injuries accounted for over 12,828 visits to Accident and Emergency units in 2006." He noted that from these, direct and indirect health care costs accounted for $J2.5B in 2005.

The theme for this year's observation is, " Buckle-up - front and back" with the tagline 'foolspeedahead'. The Minister highlighted the fact that the theme and tagline were aptly chosen as they captured the essence of initiatives that were being put in place to combat unhealthy road habits.

Minister Pickersgill made a plea to all road users to 're-acquaint themselves with the Road Code'. Said he, "Having re-acquainted yourself, apply the re-acquired knowledge on the roads - drive within posted speed limits, don't overtake on unbroken white lines, overtake only when it is safe to do so, don't overtake over a hill or on a bridge; know who has the right of way at junctions, obey traffic lights and I could go on and on." For the pedestrians, he said, " .you too have responsibility to be careful on the roads.look left, look right, then left again before crossing the road is as applicable today as it was many years ago."