Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness says the country is facing a road traffic crisis due to the number of deadly accidents reported.
He was speaking at a meeting of the National Road Safety Council on Thursday.
Holness pointed out that the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) declared 2021–2030 the “Decade of Action for Road Safety,” with the goal of preventing at least 50 percent of traffic-related deaths and injuries by 2030.
However, Holness said Jamaica risks missing the goal and maybe doubling its current incidence of traffic fatalities if things continue as they are.
He noted that as at December 11, 2022, there were 448 road fatalities, noting that in 2021, there were 487 road fatalities, the highest number of Jamaicans to have lost their lives in collisions in the previous ten years.
Holness also said the public’s perception of overall road safety has been severely impacted by the rise in traffic collisions, and urgent need to address the issue of order on the nation’s roads.
A public education campaign will be launched to raise awareness of the traffic laws and to promote safe driving in order to address the issue of traffic crashes, the injuries and fatalities they cause, and their aftereffects.
