MINISTER PICKERSGILL LAUNCHES ROAD SAFETY MONTH

Minister Pickersgill addresses the audience at the launch of Road Safety Month.

Minister Robert Pickersgill on Wednesday, June 8, launched ‘Road Safety Awareness’ month at a ceremony at the Barnes Petcom Station in Braeton, Portmore, St. Catherine.

Under the auspicies of the Jamaica Gasoline Retailers Association (JGRA), the launch focused on many road safety issues. Among those highlighted was the death of Mr. Lloyd Brown, a past president of the JGRA, who was killed on June 5. In paying tribute to him, Minister Pickersgill said he knew Mr. Brown from the time he (Mr. Brown) worked in the public sector and that while he was president of the JGRA , ‘he calmly and effectively represented the interests of the organisation’.

Turning to the matter of fatal accident, the Minister noted that these were trending downwards. Year to date figures show 137 deaths resulted from 125 fatal accidents, a decrease of 10% when compared with the same period last year. He said however that though the figures showed some improvement, the Ministry was still dissatisfied with the poor traffic discipline and behaviour exercised by many road users which results in the occurrence of many avoidable accidents.

Touching on motorcyclists, he said, ‘the practice of many motorcyclists riding without a helmet or wearing helmets suspended from their foreheads is only resulting in their peril. The 57 motorcycle crashes reported this year resulted in the deaths of 11 motorcyclists several of whom were without a helmet.’ Continuing he said, ‘ Riding without the legally required headgear increases the likelihood of head injuries or death by 85%. Wearing an approved helmet that is properly strapped under the chin preserves lives.’

Another area of concern for the Minister was the high incidence of child pedestrian deaths. He observed that the 49% reduction rate in child pedestrians killed in 2004 compared to 2003, has so far this year shown an 11% increase. He also highlighted the fact that while there was over the past 4 years an average of 17 children up to the age of 15 killed in traffic accidents on our roads, by the end of April of this year we had already lost 16 children, 15 years and under on our roads.

The Minister noted that there have been several cases resulting in tragedy where greater consciousness about one’s responsibility on the roadways and adherence to the speed limits and other regulations governing the use of the roadways, would have prevented much pain and suffering to families. To underscore the point, he said that data shows that over 80% of accidents on the nation’s roads are due to human error or faulty driver behaviour. Continuing with the data, he said that in 2004, five hundred and eighteen accidents resulted from motorists running red lights or disobeying traffic signs; this resulted in 84 persons being injured and 7 killed.

He also spoke about the operations of public passenger vehicles, noting that 43 motorists involved in accidents were operators of public vehicles. ‘When passengers entrust their lives to PPV drivers for conveyance to their destination, the drivers have a very serious obligation to do all that is within their gift to transport them safely,’ he said

The Minister acknowledged the role of several organisations in the road safety campaign. These were:

• The National Road Safety Council


• The Jamaica Constabulary Force, particularly the Police Traffic Division
• The Jamaica Association of General Insurance Companies (JAGIC)
• The Bauxite Companies of Jamaica which have aided and undertaken a diversity of projects to tackle the issues of road safety
• The many service clubs – Kiwanis, Rotary, Lions etc; community groups and other NGO’s which have contributed significantly to and undertaken several programmes for the advancement of safety on our roadways
• The print and electronic media, which have not only been prompt in reporting traffic casualties, but have been at the forefront in promoting the safe use of the road by motorists and pedestrians alike.
• The Road Safety Unit of the Ministry of Transport and Works

He ended by saying that the Ministry appreciated all the efforts and co-operation in the worthy objective to promote the safer use of the roads.