Tyrone Reid, Staff Reporter
Traffic fatalities on the decline
The crooked curves, treacherous terrain and dodgy bends of Jamaica's road network are not the areas where the lion's share of the island's traffic fatalities occur.
On the contrary, the
easy to manoeuvre, straight and smooth
thoroughfares are where most traffic fatalities occur. These are the bloody
'black spots' (areas where most accidents happen) on the Jamaican landscape.
"We don't have anything peculiar about them. They are roads that are in
good repairs ... straight roads that encourage speeding," explained Byron
Powell, deputy superintendent of police (DSP) in charge of administration at
the Traffic Division.
He added: "We find that not many accidents happen on the winding terrain."
Nelson Mandela Highway and Spanish Town Road have been the bloodiest bad spots
over the past three years. The former has witnessed 26 accidents resulting in
31 deaths while the latter recorded 28 accidents that resulted in 29 deaths.
However, the completed segments of Highway 2000, which boast the highest speed
limit in the country, are not numbered among the bad spots. In 2005, five deaths
resulted from four accidents. And, the police has nothing on record since the
start of the year.
DSP Powell pleaded with motorists to obey the law, as there is no need to speed.
"Abide by the speed limit, man," he encouraged.
The senior officer told The Sunday Gleaner that the police have implemented
proactive measures geared towards deterring motorists from potentially speeding
to their death and that of others.
POLICE TRYING TO SAVE LIVES
He added that contrary to popular belief, the police are perpetually positioned
at strategic points on these major
thoroughfares to help save lives and not for legal or illegal financial gain.
"Our aim is not really to prosecute them but to encourage them to abide
by the law," he said.
DSP Powell revealed that data have shown that most accidents occur between
12 noon -9:00 p.m. Additionally, he disclosed that most accidents happen on
the weekend with Saturday and Sunday accounting for the bulk of the crashes.
This phenomenon he said is inexplicable.
In the interim, statistics from the Traffic Division have showed that traffic
accidents and fatalities have been on a steady decline since 2002.
Statistics for the 10-year period of 1995 to 2005 showed that the year 2002
recorded the highest number of fatalities with 408 deaths. However, subsequent
years have witnessed a consistent decline with 2005 recording 326 fatalities.
Dr. Lucien Jones, vice chairman and convenor of the National Road Safety Council
said that teamwork is what has led to the reduction in traffic fatalities.
"When we work together it makes a big difference," he stressed.
DSP Powell also lauded the work being done by the Accident Analysis Unit at
the Traffic Division that he said is the guiding light of the Division. "The
Information out of this unit is used to drive our enforcement, education and
engineering activities," he revealed.
Bad spots
Spanish Town Road
Nelson Mandela Highway (spans St. Andrew south and St. Catherine south)
Alexander Bustamante Highway (May Pen in Clarendon)
Old Harbour Road (St. Catherine)
Liliput Main Road (leads into Montego Bay, St. James)
Green Island Main Road (Hanover)
Rose Hall Main Road
