LINSTEAD POLICE in the parish of St. Catherine have reported a reduction in the number of traffic accidents and resultant fatalities for the year 2002, compared with 2001. The period January 1 to December 31, 2001, saw a reported 2,141 traffic offences and for the corresponding period in 2002, there were 1,396 such offences. This represents a reduction of 745 or 35 per cent. There was also a significant drop in the number of persons ticketed, from 2,066 in 2001 to 1,248 in 2002, a decrease of 818 or 40 per cent. However, there was an increase in the number of offences which ended in arrests. The year 2001, saw 75 of the offences ending in arrests being made, while for the same period in 2002, the number arrested was 138, which represents an increase of 63 such cases or 46 per cent. Senior traffic officer at the station, Corporal Sebert Nelson, explained that there has been an increase in the number of traffic accidents in 2002 as against 2001. He also made the point that, notwithstanding this increase, the number of fatalities are trending downwards. For the period under review, January 1 to December 31, 2001, there were 78 accidents, resulting in three fatalities. For the corresponding period in 2002, there were 107 reported traffic accident, an increase of 29 or 27 per cent, and the resultant fatalities was two. He noted too that the total fatalities listed for the year 2000, was eight. There were five pedal cyclists involved in the accident totals for both 2001 and 2002. The number of pedestrians who were involved in accidents for these years were 10 in 2001, and nine in 2002. STAFF SHORTAGE Corporal Nelson also noted how arduous the task is to police the traffic in the town and all major roads leading off, as there are only two of them at the station assigned to do such duties. Thus they have to be as professional as possible. He said the peak hours now range from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, and that it is especially difficult on market days like Tuesdays and Fridays. The congestion in the town is also compounded by vendors spilling onto the Fletcher's Avenue roadway in the vicinity of the Linstead market. The need for a proper bus terminus was highlighted by Corporal Nelson as a means of easing the traffic. But he noted that finding space for such facility would be difficult as the original town planners apparently did not envisioned the phenomenal growth of the town.