Road fatalities robbing Jamaica

Earl Jarrett, chairman of the Jamaica Automobile Association (JAA), believes the island is losing very important intellectual and economic resources to road fatalities.

Noting the majority of persons killed were between 10 to 39, Jarrett indicated Jamaica's development was being stymied by these preventable incidents.

According to data from the Road Safety Unit in the Ministry of Transport and Works, fatalities in this age group account for more than 50 per cent.

"And, of course, these deaths impact areas such as the increase cost to our health-care system; the loss of productivity in the workforce; and the reduction of skills for national development," said the JAA chairman whose organisation advocates road safety.

Jarrett was speaking at the Third Annual Jamaica Driver and Traffic Safety Expo which was held recently.

Critical to development

Against the background of the recent launch of the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 and the Vision 2030 Jamaica, Jarrett said if more is not done to stymie motor vehicle fatalities, the figures could surpass HIV/AIDS deaths both in Jamaica and globally.

"Road safety is, without a doubt, one of the most critical areas that we, as citizens, must address, given the significant loss of life on our roads, daily," he said.

"The deaths result in the loss of important intellectual and economic resources each day, and immeasurable human suffering. Oftentimes, families are left to bear severe economic burdens when the main breadwinner is injured or dies in a road crash, as well as the pain of losing children and other family members," he said. Road crashes are currently the main killer of young people around the globe.

Alan Barnes, managing director of Red Stripe and keynote speaker at the expo, added that responsible alcohol consumption, particularly among young people, must be effectively promoted as one of the measures to reduce road fatalities and injuries.

He noted Diageo, the United Kingdom-based parent company of Red Stripe, had implemented several responsible-drinking programmes over the years, which brought together a cross section of influential people and organisations, but he said more needs to be done.

"We recognise nobody has a monopoly on effective programmes, which is why we introduced DRINKiQ.com, which seeks to pull resources from many people and many sources in order to educate our consumers, customers and public about alcohol," he said.

Barnes said alcohol is a special product which enhances social activities, but warned against its misuse.

He recommended several tips for consumers when attending social gatherings, including "spacing alcohol with soft drinks; avoid topping up drinks so that you know how much you have consumed; alternate water with alcohol; eat before or while drinking; and think about how you will get home before going to the party".

CAPTION: Earl Jarrett (centre), chairman of the Jamaica Automobile Association and patron of the third annual Jamaica Driver and Traffic Safety Expo, looks at road-safety data from a laptop at the National Road Safety Council booth. Also looking at the data is Al Barnes (right), managing director, Red Stripe, and Alphonso Grennell, managing director of Grennell's Driving School and organiser of the expo. Standing in the background at right is Paula Fletcher, executive director of the National Road Safety Council. The expo was held at the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre in St Andrew recently. - Contributed