MINISTER PICKERSGILL LAUNCHES BCIC's CARE CENTRE

Minister Robert Pickersgill delivered the keynote address at the launch of BCIC's Care Centre on Thursday, March 18 at the Centre's Caledonia Avenue address.

In congratulating BCIC on the worthwhile initiative they had taken in opening the ASSIST Care Centre, Minister Pickersgill noted the various positives associated with the Centre. The Centre's primary purpose is to provide motor insurance claims service to a client from the time of an accident to the time that the client's accidental damage claim is settled. The service is the only one of its kind in the region and is supported by a full cadre of professionals which include valuators, assessors, insurance technicians as well as preferred repairers. The service is intended to provide a premium service and minimise the trauma occasioned by motor vehicle accidents.

Turning to the matter of the state of Road Safety in the island, Minister Pickersgill gave various pieces of statistics which highlighted the need for greater care to be taken by all on the nation's roads. He said that despite the efforts of the Road Safety Unit, the National Road Safety Council and other agencies Jamaica continues to have a high rate of motor vehicle accidents. In 2003, 338 fatal accidents occurred, with 374 persons dying. And up to March 18, 2004 54 fatal accidents occurred resulting in 58 deaths. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that an average of one million fatalities and more than ten million injuries occur every year as a result of motor vehicle accidents. In Jamaica it is estimated that in 2002 more than J$1.4B was spent in the public health sector to care for the victims of motor vehicle accidents. In that year, the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) estimated that the average cost of treating a motor vehicle accident victim was $12,962.00.

Between 1991 and 2000, 81.5% of road fatalities involved males, while 18.5% of such fatalities involved females. This is a ratio of four to one. Children have also been suffering at the hands of careless drivers as one third of children killed are in the age group 0-14. Generally speaking, pedestrians account for 30% of all road fatalities.

As a result of the horrendous accident rate, measures have had to be put in place to deal with this situation. Among these measures are the launch of the National Road Safety Policy on April 7, 2004. The Policy contains a comprehensive mix of approaches designed to reduce and prevent the occurrence of accidents. These approaches are organised in five basic categories:

1. Engineering and the Traffic Environment
2. Education and Information
3. Enforcement and Legislation
4. Emergency Response
5. Evaluation and other comprehensive actions

The fundamental quantitative goal of the National Road Safety Policy is the reduction of the occurrence of accidents as well as the rate of mortality and morbidity by at least 25% over the next five years.

In commenting on the timeliness of the BCIC's ASSIST programme, Minister Phillips hoped that it would be a resounding success and a fitting reflection of the company's commitment to its customers. He pledged the Ministry of Transport and Works' support in assisting in serving industriously as well as to ensure even more improvements to public infrastructure and greater order to the transport sector.