More transport operators trained as first responders

Some 15 more transport operators have been trained as first responders.

The Second Transport Operators Blue Ribbon First Responder Training and Certification Programme equipped participants with the skills necessary to render assistance on a traffic crash site.

It was put on by Transport Operators Development Sustainable Services (TODSS) and British Caribbean Insurance Company (BCIC).

Minister of Transport Audley Shaw has encouraged private and public sector entities to forge partnerships to enhance Jamaica's transportation network.

Shaw commended TODSS and BCIC for partnering on the initiative, under which public transport operators are trained to become first responders to traffic crashes as well as road-safety ambassadors within the public transport sector.

He said that the Ministry was in full support of the project, as it is taxi and bus drivers, in many instances, who transport injured persons to the hospital when traffic crashes occur.

“I am encouraged that this will aid in saving more lives on our roads. This Blue Ribbon First Responders Training is a good step and I support it wholeheartedly” Shaw said at the presentation ceremony, which was held at the University of Technology Jamaica, on August 11.

“I want to encourage all the responders here today to take this road-safety ambassadorship with utmost respect and dignity as you aid us in preventing deaths and serious injuries,” he added.

Programme participant, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of 876-On-the-Go Ride Share Company, Olivia Lindsay, described the training programme as a step in the right direction and highlighted the benefit of having persons with the requisite knowledge on hand to render immediate assistance at a crash site.

“Road safety is everybody's business, and the right thing is to have persons trained and so equipped to assist until professionals get there. There are simple things that can be done to alleviate the problem or to prevent further damage,” Lindsay said.

She explained that the programme seeks to assist with eliminating or decreasing road fatalities by drilling down and looking into what can be done to save lives on the roads and to encourage others within the transport sector to do the same.

She pointed out that her decision to be trained along with six drivers from her company was driven by a commitment to contribute to nation-building and transforming the industry.

- JIS News

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