Police to Strengthen Presence on Roads

The police will have a strong presence on the island’s roadways, particularly during the holiday season, to ensure that safe practices are being observed by all road users.

“The police will be out and we are not going to be out only to breath test, but also to ensure that persons are secure,” said Head of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) Public Safety and Traffic Enforcement Branch (PSTEP), Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Gary McKenzie.

“We will provide the kind of visibility and the kind of protection and, of course, support to ensure that we can go through the [rest of] 2022,” he said.

ACP McKenzie was speaking at Red Stripe’s ‘Responsibility Now’ town hall held recently at the company’s Spanish Town Road headquarters, Kingston.

He urged motorists to exercise greater care on the roads, particularly as the festive season approaches.

“As we head towards the end of the year, we have seen what has been happening on the roads. We have over [400] persons killed already as a result of road crashes, and so we want persons to be responsible. We do want persons to enjoy themselves but to do so responsibly,” he said.

ACP McKenzie said persons should not be texting, drinking, or doing other activities while driving as these are distracting and can cause road accidents.

“When you drive on the roadways, you have to pay attention to the signs and the marks that make up the environment, as well as other road users around you. Distraction is a very big thing and we believe to be the cause of a lot of crashes. So, concentrate on what you do. Driving is a full-time job… it is not a joke thing; it is a serious thing,” he emphasised.

The JCF Public Safety and Traffic Enforcement Branch Head encouraged all road users to cooperate with the police.

“We ask that everyone, private and public passenger vehicle drivers and operators work along with all of us to ensure that all of us are safe,” ACP McKenzie urged.

Data from the Road Safety Council indicate that 408 persons have been killed in 354 fatal crashes since the start of the year. There were 487 road fatalities in 2021.

The top three categories with the highest number of fatalities are motorcyclists (120), pedestrians (84 ) and private motorcar drivers (76).

Eighty-four per cent of those killed are males, while the main cause of crashes is excessive speed.