From 'Save 300' to 'Below 240' - NRSC resets road fatalities goal

Sheldon Williams, Sunday Gleaner Writer

The National Road Safety Council (NRSC) has launched a new road-safety campaign for 2013, focused on reducing road fatalities to below 240 annually over three years. As at March 6 this year, 42 fatalities have been recorded, compared with 45 at the same point in 2012.

The 2013 initiative follows on last year's successful effort to reduce road deaths to less than 300. The new initiative, 'Below 240: Jamaica Can Do It', was announced on February 14 by the NRSC. The new goal comes out of recent consultations among the NRSC, its member organisations and other partners.

In a release, the NRSC said last year's road fatalities figure was the lowest the island had recorded since the 1990s and that was further motivation to lower the number of fatalities even further.

"During 2012, Jamaica recorded 260 road fatalities. This was the first time in 13 years, and the first time since the launch of the four-year-old Save 300 Lives campaign that fewer than 300 persons died on the roads", the release stated.

It further said, "Last year, the nation realised a 16 per cent decline in road deaths over 2011 and a 25 per cent decrease during the four years of the Save 300 Lives campaign".

Dr Lucien Jones, vice-chairman/convenor of the NRSC, lauded the professionalism of the police, saying it played a key role in the campaign meeting its target. Still, the time has come for even greater reductions.

"We also want to commend Jamaicans for pulling out all the stops to ensure a decline in road fatalities last year. However, the NRSC and its partner organisations believe the time has come for us to challenge ourselves as a nation to do even better on the roads. Thus, we have taken the decision to revise the road-safety target to 240 deaths per year," Jones was quoted as saying.

Among other things, Paula Fletcher, executive director of the NRSC, explained to Automotives that achieving the new target is dependent on the introduction of the new Road Traffic Act.

"It is very important for obtaining data. We still don't know the numbers that reflect cellphone usage while driving and we need to have a new tyre standard and breaker-strip system. We have to look how we train our drivers," she said.

FLAW IN ROAD TRAFFIC ACT

"There's a flaw in the current Road Traffic Act and this one is really critical. I would put this one on the top of the list really, but it would still have to do with the Island Traffic Authority (ITA). The Act currently does not give them the authority to suspend a licence. It gives them the power to issue. But I think it was just an oversight; I don't think that it was ever the intention not to name them as the entity to withdraw," Fletcher said.

"The Act had really named the Transport Authority. I think it was an error and they refused to continue to do it, because the Transport Authority really deals with public-passenger vehicles, so it really is the remit of the person who issues the licence to be the one to take it away. So there are a number of persons out there whose licences should have been withdrawn."

Making the change would make all the difference, Fletcher believes. "So if it is that we have that system in place, immediately people will begin to say this is a system that is working so we have to be mindful that we would lose our licences. So that one I would put at the top of the list, because it would give the ITA the power to suspend licences," she said.

Fletcher explained that the NRSC has embarked on a conservative public-education campaign about the new target. "We run them at peak periods, usually come February, March. And coming up in April, we are going to launch a new campaign to support the Below 240, focusing on pedestrian safety. And we have a known sports personality with us on that. When we go into June, National Road Safety Month, that is a high point for us, and we will be a part of the expo at Ranny Williams (Centre)," Fletcher said.

INTENSIFYING PUBLIC EDUCATION

The NRSC release also noted Jones' pledge that the organisation will intensify its education campaign to assist the public in being more proactive about road safety. He pointed out that the key to further reducing the death toll on Jamaica's roads is to "remain vigilant in proper road usage, as well as to shun complacency and indiscipline. Also, all road users must become familiar with the rules of the road and obey those regulations".

Fletcher identified the importance of availability of adequate resources to achieving the target. "There is the need for the police to be adequately equipped with hand-held devices with links to the traffic-ticketing database. This readily retrievable database would provide information on delinquent drivers' tickets and warrants," she said.

At the same time, the NRSC has suggested that there should be "a restoration of the warrant system for motorists who break the law, as well as vigilance on the part of the police in tracking and apprehending persons who breach the road safety regulations".