Peter Espeut | Same old, same old, even in this pandemic

As the end of the year approaches, it is customary to tot up certain statistics and compare them with last year to assess our progress. This year (2020) should show big differences. With work-from-home and remote-schooling due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the nightly curfews, fewer people have been out and about; surely, this should mean less shootings, murders, traffic accidents and deaths.

Between January 1 and December 5, 2020, 1,227 persons were murdered in Jamaica, compared to 1,249 last year over the corresponding period, a decrease of 1.8 per cent. This year, there were 1,204 shooting incidents compared to 1,179 last year, an increase of 2.1 per cent. It is hard to conclude that there has been any meaningful change in this area over the last year. Jamaica remains one of the most violent and deadly countries in the world – pandemic or not!

Last year (2019) Jamaican road users set a national record for road fatalities: 435 persons were killed on our roads. Fatal collisions have been a worrying statistic over the last few years. With the quality of public transport in decline, and with very many more cars on the road, collisions may logically be expected to increase. The frequently heard allegation that driver’s licences and vehicle fitness certificates are easy to procure has not been refuted or addressed; unqualified drivers behind the wheels of unfit vehicles (on deteriorating roadways) are a deadly combination.

But we might expect that with no face-to-face classes for most of the year (therefore, the children are indoors), and with so many adults working from home, and with people supposed to be off the road ‘from early o’clock’, road fatalities should be substantially down in 2020.

Between January 1 and December 7, 2020 there were 396 deaths on our roads, compared to 404 deaths at the corresponding time in record-breaking 2019. I shudder to think what the figure would be if children were at school and staff travelled to their workplace each working day. The next few weeks will reveal whether Jamaican road users will set a new record in 2020.

MOTORCYCLISTS

More motorcyclists were killed in 2020 than in 2019 – 129 compared to 122; the figure for 2018 was 90; 30 pedal cyclists were killed this year compared to 20 last year; 16 pillion riders were killed this year compared to 17 last year.

It is the law that all motorcyclists (and their pillions) must wear crash helmets while on the road; this is for their own protection. [It is a grave deficiency that, in Jamaica, pedal cyclists are not required to wear helmets, like in many other jurisdictions]. Road injuries are a cost to both the Government health budget and insurance companies. Enforcing the helmet law will benefit riders, as well as both the public and private sectors. It seems to me that the police are abject failures in this area.

As I drive about my daily business, I observe that less than half the motorcyclists do not wear helmets, and almost no pillion riders do. Were a traffic cop to position himself at any spot in the Corporate Area (and maybe even in rural areas), he should be able to exhaust at least one ticket book each day. Should he seize the motorcycles of those riders without helmets, he should be able to fill several pickup trucks each day.

If we cannot enforce the wearing of helmets – anyone who has eyes can detect this violation – how can we possibly enforce hidden offences like driving without a licence or insurance? Or offences which require detection and investigation?

Jamaica lacks a culture of enforcement in almost all areas; few are prosecuted for traffic violations, environmental breaches, land capturing, illegal construction, electricity theft, nepotism, cronyism, breaching procurement guidelines … and the list could go on and on.

And no heads roll because of this non-performance – and everyone still draws their monthly salaries.

A new year and a new decade will soon dawn. Will things be any different? Well, Christians must have hope, especially in this Advent season.

Peter Espeut is a sociologist and development scientist. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com