Dennie Quill, Contributor

The recent spate of road fatalities which have claimed more than a dozen lives since Saturday, has brought to the fore the level of lawlessness which dominates our country in general, and the roadways, in particular. The fact that Manchester politician Clinton Dietrich was killed in one of those crashes prompted swift public outrage from his colleagues. Yes, members of the JLP, PNP and even the NDM (has found its voice) have declared that the time has come for us all to be more careful in our use of the roads.

It shouldn't take Mr. Dietrich's death for us to come to that conclusion. The alarming statistics are there to prove that reckless drivers are putting themselves, their passengers and other road users at risk every day. The Ministry of Health has the data: there are some 13,000 road injuries in this tiny country each year. This translates into tremendous cost to the health care system, devastation and agony to families and communities, strain on the insurance business; and with the loss of people in their prime there is an ultimate drag on the country's human resource and development capabilities. If ever there is a matter that requires intervention at the highest level, road safety is it. But road safety is not a sexy topic, so one does not expect the leaders of the PNP and the JLP to cometogether and unite around a common approach for minimising the occurrence and impact of road fatalities. There are not enough votes to be garnered this way.

Simply our nature

Soon after Mr. Dietrich and other accident victims are buried, life will be back to its routine. Death will be no reason for us to mend our ways. We see them every day: bicycle riders without helmets or lights, riding against the flow of traffic; motorcyclists without helmets, bobbing and weaving in front of other vehicles, without due regard; pedestrians jaywalking or crossing the road indiscriminately; motorists cutting in front of others, not wearing seat belts, distracted by cellphone use, speeding, running red lights and disobeying stop signs. That's the nature of road usage in this country.

Interestingly, the bulk of the fatalities occur on the newest and finest surfaces. In the rural areas where some roads are mere tracks, people tend to exercise better care. Interventions have included laws to make the wearing of seatbelts compulsory as well as limits to alcohol consumption and speed. However, none of these will work if there is no rigorous enforcement. Take the Breathalyser. It is my understanding that these are no longer operational. So what's the point of setting alcohol limits when there is no way of testing one suspected of flouting the law? And why set speed limits at the ridiculously low level of 50 kph on the Michael Manley Boulevard? This is a straight, relatively well-maintained road of low traffic density. I guarantee that setting realistic speed limits will contribute to better compliance.

Road safety culture

It is clear that we need to develop a culture of road safety in this country. The key to this has to be in the education of our road users, motorists and pedestrians alike. How about introducing national compulsory driver education in schools for students 16 and over? I suggest that we call on the reservoir of retired policemen and press them into service so that studentscan be given driving instructions and taught the rules of the road from early so they are equipped for a life-time of conscious and safe road usage.

Finally, could the Road Traffic Department be persuaded to erect white crosses in areas where there have been road fatalities as a grim reminder to road users to exercise caution? Given the urgency of the situation it behooves us to try whatever we can to stem the orgy of violations that we see on the nation's streets every day.