Fatalities down says road safety official

Dr Lucien Jones, vice-chairman of the National Road Safety Council, believes that with continued training of road users, the country will sustain the current reduction in fatalities, indicating that the greatest success thus far has been among motorcyclists.

Providing statistics for January to April 4 this year, Jones pointed to statistics that show that there were 109 fatalities on the nation's roads in 2016, eighty-nine in 2017, and 78 in 2018 during the first quarter.

The statistics also show that 16 pedestrians died in 2016, twenty-five in 2017, while 17 died in 2018. Thirty-eight motorcyclists died in 2016, twenty-eight in 2017, and 15 in 2018.

The vice-chairman of the council is working to make sure that awareness is heightened, in addition to ensuring that sanctions for breaches of the Road Traffic Act are enforced.

"We are making progress, especially with regard to motorcyclists," Jones told The Gleaner. "This [reduction] can be sustained if we continue the training. The new provisions from the RTA (Road Traffic Act) will help. In addition, there is a new thrust to provide safe roads through the safe-systems approach to road safety," he continued.

Jones added: "We have been targeting motorcyclists with training by Back to Basics, organised by Tariq Kiddoe and his group. There was also public education, advertisements, and the police targeting them also."

jody-ann.gilpin@gleanerjm.com