Holness calls for more aid to deal with traffic deaths and injuries

Chairman of the National Road Safety Council, Prime Minister Andrew Holness, is calling for more financial aid to developing countries like Jamaica to help with the implementation of sustainable measures to reduce road traffic deaths and injuries.

Holness made the appeal while delivering the keynote address at today's UN Global Road Safety Webinar hosted by the council.

The event was one of the activities to mark the annual UN Global Road Safety Week, which is being held under the theme 'Streets for Life'.

“[The] road safety [council] has been commendable and sustained advocacy over many years has been inserted in the UN sustainable goals, to which Jamaica is committed. And international partners should commit to scaling up the flow of grant funds to the developing world where 80 to 90 per cent of road fatalities take place and where the loss of lives, cost of injuries, and the consequences of lost income are often devastating,” said Holness.

“Jamaica remains committed to playing our role even as we fight against the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure safe mobility and sustainable development. We want everyone to be safe and to experience the rewards of life's journey,” he continued.

It is estimated that more than one million people are killed in traffic collisions across the world each year.

Chief executive officer of The Jamaica National Group, Earl Jarrett, believes that for a country with a population of under three million, the high number of road deaths in Jamaica is cause for serious concern.

In 2019, 440 persons were killed on the nation's road, with 424 in 2020.

And current figures show that this year is trending ahead of the corresponding period for last year.

According to the head of the Mona GeoInformatics Institute, Dr Parris Lyew-Ayee Jr, road deaths should fall between 435 and 472 in 2021.

He believes that in analysing road crashes, attention should be paid to incorporating road safety measures into road construction designs and the causes of traffic collisions.

He posited that the conditions that prevail at night and during the day on the same stretch of road should be taken into account as well as the weather at the time.

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