September 24 and 25 Most Deadly for Road Crashes

The Road Safety Unit has said that the two-day period of September 24 and 25 was the most deadly in Jamaica in terms of road crashes since the start of the year.
According to the Unit, the deaths could have been prevented had the drivers been more cautious on the roadways.
“Within 24 hours, Jamaica witnessed 10 private motor vehicle passengers killed as a result of wanton carelessness on the part of drivers, who were engaged in speeding and improper overtaking manoeuvres,” said Statistician at the Unit, Kenute Hare, while speaking with JIS News.
The two crashes occurred in St. Catherine along the Guanaboa Vale Main Road and Highway 2000.
Speeding was the primary reason for the death of six private motor vehicle passengers along Highway 2000, while improper overtaking led to the crash that killed four passengers along the Guanaboa Vale Main Road.
In the Highway 2000 accident, Mr. Hare said that the wet road condition was also a factor. “This wet surface means that if the motorists fail(ed) to adjust to the road condition, which in this case could have been to reduce speed, their vehicle would be susceptible to hydroplaning,” explained Mr. Hare.
Hydroplaning occurs when a vehicle glides uncontrollably on a film of water and can result when speeding on a wet surface or driving with worn tyres.
According to the Unit both vehicles were also overloaded. “There were eight persons in the car, which was licenced to carry five in the Guanaboa Vale incident and seven persons in the car involved in the Highway 2000 incident,” Mr. Hare told JIS News.
The drivers of both vehicles survived. The average age of the drivers is 29 years old, while the ages of the passengers were evenly distributed among the various age groups. Seven of the persons who died were females.
In the meantime, the Unit also reported that private motor vehicle passenger deaths in multiple crashes have increased astronomically from two in 2006 to 15 at present. Public passenger vehicle deaths have however, decreased by 80 per cent when compared with the similar period for last year. Since the start of the year, seven multiple crashes have occurred leaving 31 persons dead.