JPS Partners with Road Safety Unit in ‘Drive For Life’ Campaign

The Jamaica Public Service (JPS) Company Limited has announced its partnership with the Road Safety Unit in its defensive driving campaign, dubbed: ‘Drive for Life’.
This move is part of a thrust to help reduce the effects of motor vehicle accidents on the services of the JPS.
Speaking with JIS News, Corporate Communications Manager, Winsome Callum revealed that last year the JPS had close to 107 interruptions on the power delivery system as a result of motor vehicle accidents. Each of these interruptions, she pointed out, lasted for a minimum of four hours. This, she noted, is the average time it takes to replace a damaged pole and repair the affected lines that are attached to the pole.
“It is really costly to us in terms of the service we offer to our customers and also in terms of the costs to repair the damaged parts of the line,” she said.
“The average cost to repair a pole is about $80,000 and that includes labour and material. If there are other equipment, such as a transformer, involved in the accident, then the cost could go up by another $200,000, so it’s really very costly,” she continued.
Miss Callum said the JPS has a vested interest in supporting the ‘Drive for Life’ campaign, because motor vehicle accidents “significantly affect the service that we provide to our customers.”
She said that the importance of safety on the roads cannot be overemphasized. “The JPS, like all other corporate entities in Jamaica, would like to see the number of motor vehicle accidents decreased,” she stressed, while pointing out that in addition to the lives that are lost, motor vehicle accidents involving power lines greatly affect the quality of service that the company provides and impacts on its costs.
The defensive driving campaign is a behaviour change thrust that seeks to instill knowledge, awareness and discipline in drivers, so as to foster and promote safety on the roads.
Defensive driving workshops are currently underway with one scheduled for Wednesday, January 30 at the Old Marina, West Palm Avenue in Port Antonio, to which all drivers are invited.