Jamalco partners with police for road safety session in schools

Jamalco conducted road safety sessions at four schools in its operational communities in observance of Road Safety Month, recently. The sessions at Mile Gully, St Jago, Rock, and Ashley Primary schools, aimed to educate students on the importance of road safety and responsible behaviour on the roads.

Senior Community Relations Officer Phillip Biggs explained: “Jamalco remains committed to the well-being of its operational communities and will continue to support initiatives that promote safety and responsible behaviour on our roads. We recognise that children are consistent users, hence our commitment to supporting their safety on our busy streets,” Biggs said. The company notes the alarming rate of road fatalities in Jamaica, with some 400 lives lost each year. By partnering with the JCF’s Road Safety Unit, Jamalco aims to contribute to reducing this statistic by instilling road safety awareness in the younger generation.

Sergeant Craig Bonito and Constable Romaine Young of the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s (JCF) Road Safety Unit facilitated the sessions, which included interactive road safety simulations.

“The road safety sessions were engaging, informative, and fun for our students,” said Machell Spencer, principal of the Rock River Primary, who saluted Jamalco’ s initiative, and expressed gratitude to the officers for the informative sessions.

“Road accidents are the second leading cause of death in Jamaica, so it is important to be alert when crossing the road,” said Sergeant Bonitto. He told the students that a best practice while crossing the road was to wait until they made eye contact with the driver before crossing.

He encouraged the students to always use the pedestrian crossing and not play on the streets. “You need to think, look for a safe place to cross. Stop, use your eyes and ears, and look to the left, right, and then to the left again and only cross if the road is clear,” he said.