By John Myers, Jr., Staff Reporter
Workmen put final touches on one of the bridges being constructed along Highway 2000 yesterday. It was disclosed at a press conference organised by the Toll Authority yesterday that most motor vehicle accidents on highways are caused by faulty tyres. - CONTRIBUTED
THE OPERATORS of Highway 2000 are expressing concern that there could be a significant increase in motor vehicle accidents if proper legislation is not established to govern the quality and use of tyres.
At a special seminar yesterday between representatives of the Toll Authority, stakeholders in the tyre retail and distribution trade, the Bureau of Standards, and Jamaica Infrastructure Operators (JIO) operators of Highway 2000 it was disclosed that a significant number of the accidents that occurred on the Old Harbour segment of the highway had resulted from tyre failure.
"Safety is a key component of operating the highway and during the first month it was quite alarming when we looked at the statistics and realised that a majority of the accidents were attributable to the failure of tyres," explained Desmond Levy, operations and maintenance manager of the JIO.
"If nothing is done about this problem, we can look at a three-fold increase in these statistics, especially when the Bushy Park to Portmore segment is completed." He pointed out that, of the accidents, there was one particular brand of tyre in which the problem kept recurring.
According to Patrick McIntosh, chairman of the Toll Authority, the 'entity' established by Govern-ment to supervise the operations of Highway 2000, 36 per cent of the 89 accidents which occurred on the Old Harbour bypass segment were as a result of tyre blowouts.
"What we also find is that the regulations governing tyres in the Road Traffic Act are virtually non-existent so it doesn't even make sense we talk about enforcing the regulations," McIntosh said.
WRONG TYPE OF TYRES
In highlighting the problem associated with the improper use and maintenance of tyres, Goffrey Ziadie of Chad-Ad Distributors, said part of the problem was that some motorists were using the wrong type of tyres on their vehicles. "We see it a lot of times where a mini-bus, for argument sake... puts on a normal passenger vehicle tyre because it looks good," he explained.
He continued: "A lot of the used cars that come to Jamaica come with snow tyres which are not made to go over a certain speed and are not made for the type of temperature that we have here."
However, Herman Edmondson, manager for metrology and testing at the Jamaica Bureau of Standards (JBS), said a set of standards was being developed to address the situation. In the interim, he said the JBS has established a programme that would be introduced on a phased basis to look for basic labelling requirements such as thread ware indicator, load rating, trademark and air pressure indicator.
PUBLIC TO BE EDUCATED
Byron Powell, deputy superintendent of police attached to Police Traffic Headquarters, said 2,145 persons have been killed as a result of motor vehicle accidents from 1998 to 2003. Over the same period, he said there were 69, 313 motor vehicle accidents. DSP Powell said 260 persons have been killed in motor vehicle accidents so far this year.
The Toll Authority, in an effort to address the problem, announced that it was embarking on a $3 million public education campaign to sensitise the public on proper maintenance, standards and use of tyres and the dangers involved. The campaign, which is to be run on radio and television, is to be launched in time for the Christmas holidays and will run for several weeks.
