SINCE THE start of the year, 159 persons have died in 131 road accidents as against 295 deaths in 262 accidents last year. Many others have suffered injuries leading to permanent disabilities. One half of all hospital admissions are the result of traffic accidents. June has been designated Road Safety Month.
The National Road Safety Council (NRSC) and the Ministry of Transport have been mounting a vigorous campaign for road safety. Signs with safety messages are up all over the country. Legislation for the wearing of seat-belts for motorists, and helmets for motorcyclists are in place following on legislation against drinking and driving.
The effectiveness of policing these laws is questionable, however. International statistics have established that human factors are behind 75 per cent of road accidents. Those human factors include lack of attention, poor observation, excessive speed, and failure to abide by the rules of the road. On the local scene some one-third of accidents have been attributed to excessive speed and to recklessness. Jamaica has excessively high road accidents and fatality rates.
Serious attention to the human factors obviously has to be at the heart of a road safety campaign. One of the major events of Road Safety Month is the alliance of the NRSC and THINK FIRST, an international organisation. THINK FIRST focuses on the prevention of brain and spinal injury through the education of individuals, community leaders and the creators of public policy. There are more than 200 THINK FIRST injury prevention programmes backed by neuro-surgeons worldwide. We welcome THINK FIRST to Jamaica as a valuable partner in the fight against the unnecessary carnage on the nation's roads.
The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner.
