Editorial | Make roads safe

There was good news and bad news in the crash report released this week by the Island Traffic Authority (ITA).

The good news: that in the first 54 days of 2026 (up to February 23) road traffic fatalities were down 31 per cent, while fatal crashes decreased by 35 per cent compared to the same period last year. If that trend holds, there will possibly be approximately 127 fewer road deaths in 2026, than the 373 who died in road crashes in 2025.

According to the ITA, Jamaica recorded in 2025, a one-per-cent increase over the 365 deaths in 2024, interrupting what had been a downward trend from the highs of 487 deaths in 2021 and 488 in 2022, before falling to 425 in 2023 and then 365 in 2024. There has been an ease over the last three years following sustained elevated levels earlier in the decade.

Here’s the concerning information in the report: seven children died in road incidents over those 54 days. That is six more deaths than for the same period in 2025.

This may not be considered a huge number, and may not be sufficient from which to draw long-term statistical trends. Moreover, there is still significant time before the end of the year.

According to the Mona GeoInformatics Institute (MGI), child fatalities remain a concern, with eight children reported killed in crashes in 2025 (mid-year data), compared with 24 child deaths in 2024.

Nonetheless, the figure is high enough for the National Road Safety Council (NRSC) to describe it as “disturbing” and “deeply concerning”.

The Gleaner concurs.

BROADER ISSUES

There are also broader issues, which NRSC vice-chairman, Dr Lucien Jones, said raise questions about seatbelt use and child-safety restraints. The circumstances surrounding road fatalities involving children, including collisions where attention, judgement and clearance issues were cited, indicate systemic failures in both behavioural compliance and enforcement of existing traffic regulations.

The enforcement of child safety measures, such as age-appropriate restraints and mandatory seatbelt use, must be made non-negotiable. Further, investment in safer infrastructure, such as pedestrian crossings, sidewalks near schools, and traffic calming measures in residential zones should be prioritised.

Former director of the Island Traffic Authority, Kenute Hare, speaking to Power 106 radio station, cited the failure of lack of political will to enforce what he said are the five pillars of road safety – safer people, safer roads, safer vehicles, safer speeds, and post-crash care.

“We have failed dramatically,” Mr Hare said.”We have compromised the safety of our children in motor vehicles.”

Children are among the most vulnerable road-users. Particularly when they are going to school and returning home, most time unaccompanied by adults, leaving them vulnerable, and susceptible to meet with an accident.

The Jamaica Constabulary Force has reported intensified enforcement. More than 585,000 traffic tickets were issued in 2024, which continued into 2025 with 11,544 warrants executed by June 2025 for unpaid tickets.

PUBLIC EDUCATION

As more robust road traffic laws are being enforced, there is also the need for greater public education.

Jamaica can also take a cue from international best practices. Countries like Sweden, have adopted a Vision Zero policy, wherein no loss of life on the roads is acceptable. This led to systemic reforms in road design, speed management and enforcement, resulting in some of the lowest child traffic fatality rates in the world.

Infrastructural upgrades – dedicated cycle paths, raised pedestrian crossings near schools – have been implemented, and there’s strict adherence of default speed limits in residential areas.

Similarly, in the Netherlands, the extensive deployment of school zones with enforced speed limits, combined with safe-walking and cycling infrastructure, coupled with a strong culture of road safety education, has created environments where children are far less likely to be involved in traffic accidents.

Former deputy commissioner of police, Mark Shields, in an article in this newspaper, recommended an intelligence-led approach used in policing to be applied to traffic fatalities and serious injuries. He suggested to:

• Identify crash hotspots (where deaths and serious collisions repeatedly occur).

• Identify high-risk behaviours (speeding, red-light running, dangerous overtaking, failure to keep left, non-use of seatbelts).

• Align enforcement and engineering to those risks (high-certainty enforcement, road markings, barriers and ‘street furniture’ to prevent lethal manoeuvres, junction redesign, and lighting).

• Monitor results and adjust.

Stricter enforcements of the rules apart, which have resulted in marginal decreases in fatalities, as Dr Jones said, flouting traffic rules, speeding, reckless driving and failure to use safety restraints continue to fuel preventable tragedies.