More Breathalysers Being Purchased

As part of measures to curb indiscipline on the roads, the Government is moving to acquire more breathalysers, with support from the United Nations Road Safety Fund (UNRSF).

Minister without Portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister, Hon. Floyd Green, who made the disclosure while delivering the keynote address at a defensive driving workshop held on April 17 at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston, said the machines will aid the renewed road-safety campaign to save lives.

“They will strengthen our support around our breathalyser programme, so that we can do more testing. Also, we are doing some work to map out our crash hotspots, so that we can put in preventative interventions,” the Minister said.

A breath alcohol test measures how much alcohol is in the air that a person breathes out. The device uses that measurement to estimate how much alcohol is in the blood and can then be used to produce court evidence.

Mr. Green informed that the National Road Safety Council (NRSC) is hearing concerns on the New Road Safety Act and called for persons to put forward their suggestions by writing to roadsafety@cwjamaica.com, and the group is open to making adjustments that are necessary.

“The Act is in force and has to be obeyed so that we can reduce and eliminate deaths on our nation’s roads,” he told the audience.

Mr. Green pointed out that road crashes place a great burden on the health sector, particularly the cost, and is “an urgent priority that we have to address”.

He said that up to April 13, 122 persons had died from 110 fatal collisions, and noted that many families are suffering from deaths and injuries on the roads.

“All our road crashes can be prevented. We have to change our behaviour on the roads,” the Minister emphasised.

The workshop was organised by Grennell’s Driving School, which the Minister said shares a common goal with the Government to improve driving skills and to create safer roads.

The UNRSF was created to finance actions in low and middle-income countries to substantially reduce deaths and injuries from road crashes and to reduce economic losses resulting from these crashes.