Walk good! Pedestrian-education campaign to come

Howard Campbell, Sunday Gleaner Writer

A government-appointed commission hopes to push for changes to the Road Traffic Act after another bloody year on Jamaican roads. While drivers, riders and cyclists will once again be encouraged to take it easy, pedestrians will also be educated about safety-first practises.

Kenute Hare, a director at the Road Safety Unit (RSU) of the Ministry of Transport and Works, told Automotives that pedestrians found the going tough in 2010 with 116 deaths reported.

That is a big jump up from the 83 deaths recorded the previous year when 102 pedestrians died in accidents.

"It's something that we are not pleased about, we hope to reach out to pedestrians and drivers to improve things this year," Hare said.

He added: "We made serious strides between 2008 and 2009 but we saw a 29 per cent increase in deaths between 2009 and 2010."

The commission recommending changes to the Road Traffic Act comprises officials from the ministries of Justice, National Security and Transport and Works, as well as the National Road Safety Council, National Works Agency, the Jamaica Constabulary Force, Inland Revenue Department, Insurance Association of Jamaica and Island Traffic Authority.

Hare said he expects the amendments to be finalised by August.

The year has not started well for pedestrians. On January 3, Johanna Scarlet, 51, and Esmerelda Evans, a 60-year-old visually impaired woman, were killed when a Toyota Avalon motor car crashed into the crowded bus stop where they were standing at Old Hope Road in St Andrew.

Six days later, four persons attending a wake in Four Paths, Clarendon, were killed by a speeding car which swerved off the roadway into the gathering.

Despite strong gains in the first two quarters of 2010, there were 315 road deaths in Jamaica last year. And, this was the 10th straight year traffic fatalities surpassed the 300 figure. The RSU reported 347 deaths in 2009.