Students from the Jamaica House Basic School perform during the launch of the National Road Safety Council's 'Save 300 Lives' campaign, held at Jamaica House, St Andrew, yesterday. - Norman Grindley/Acting Photography Editor

OLYMPIC GOLD medallist, Melaine Walker, who has herself been a victim of a car crash, is now endorsing the National Road Safety Council's 'Save 300 Lives' campaign.

Walker said yesterday that, having been involved in a motor vehicle accident, she felt close to the project and understood the need for it.

The campaign, which is a collaborative effort between the council and the Cabinet office, is aimed at reducing road traffic fatalities to under 300 for this year and beyond.

Walker, who surged to victory in the women's 400m hurdles at the Games of the 29th Olympiad in Beijing, China, in August, was speaking at the launch of the campaign at Jamaica House in St Andrew.

Think of others

The Olympic record holder told members of the audience that, earlier this year, she crashed into a utility pole on her way to the University of Technology. She was trying to avoid a collision with another motor car.

Walker urged motorists to be courteous on the roads and not to only think of themselves, but to take into account the safety of other road users.

Businessman and motor racer, David Summerbell Jr, is also endorsing the campaign.

Awareness, according to Summerbell, is one of the single-most important tools road users must arm themselves with when using the roadways.

He told The Gleaner that this tool did not apply only to motorists, but also pedestrians and commuters.

Last year, 350 people lost their lives as a result of road accidents. Since the start of the year, more than 200 people have been killed on the country's roads.